Life Is a Highway
by NavyBlueWings
Summary: When Naruto hears Sasuke is moving across the country, he is really upset. Not willing to say goodbye just yet, he thinks of only one thing…ROAD TRIP! But what happens when you realize your best friend is..more than that? Three/four shot, Read and Reveiw!
1. Road Trip

Hello! It's me again! Since I just finished up 'Love Machine' and 'Bite' is almost done, I needed something else to work on. I know, you're all thinking the same thing. 'WTF why doesn't she have a life?!' Well……because all my classes this semester don't give me homework, and work has only been giving me a couple hours a week….haha. So yea, here's my new idea! And I think it's pretty darn original. Or maybe not, you decide! Here you go. And you should know it's gonna be a Naruto POV, but I may do another Sasuke. If I'm feeling up to a challenge. Oh, and since I told you where I got the idea of LM and Bite, I'll tell you where I got this one. Driving around the back roads of my town. I'm a little weird.

**Warning: ****There will be lime(s) and lemon(s) in this story. Maybe not this chapter, but soon.**

**Disclaimer: ****I own the CDS! Yes, I do! Because they are my mixes! Mwhahahaha! …But not Naruto…or the song….or Crossroads…or Mcgriddles…you'll see when you read it!**

**Road Trip**

"Can we bring

yesterday

back around?

cause I know

how I feel

about you now!"

"Naruto!!" I jumped and shouted at the hand that shot out at me, grabbing my throat and hitting me back into the wall. You're guessing some big, 6'3, 300 pound guy who I owe money, right? OR some guy with one eye, a peg leg, and scars all over his body? And maybe a few are going for the biker dude that has the long goatee with the 'mom' tattoo on his arm. Well, to answer your question…

"Sa-Sakura!" I chocked out, trying to smile through the lack of air that was getting to my head. You were ALL wrong. It's a shot, pink-headed girl who has a low tolerance for anyone with the name 'Naruto'. And boy, what do you know, that's me!

"We haven't even picked up Sasuke yet and you're driving me _crazy _with this song! And if you're doing that to someone who has the same taste in music, imagine how Sasuke is going to be when you play this song for the twenty third time!" Well, she had a point there. I guess I may have been playing the song a little too much. But in my defense, I had just discovered the song the night before when I was burning my CDs for the next couple weeks. Oh, you're probably what I'm doing at Sakura's house at five in the morning, with a bunch of CDs and preparing to go pick up my best/worst friend ever. Well…

"Can we go then?! I wanna start this road trip as soon as we can!" Uzumaki Naruto, 21, was going on his first road trip cross country! And for a small town boy who wasn't allowed to go to Boston on a day trip because my mother was a total worry wart, this was a big deal. I had been packed for days, and had been constantly bugging my two best friends about the trip ever since I found out we were going. Alright, so it was when I _announced _we were going. And why did I decide this? Well, it started four months ago in February, when Sasuke had told me and Sakura that his dad had finally promoted him as a CEO in their fancy smanchy business. Uchiha inc. was the biggest computer company in the U.S.A, and it made his parents pretty damn rich.

Uchiha Sasuke, 22, had been a super genius since his dad impregnated his mom. Ew, now that I think about that scary image, I never want to look at his parents again. _Anyways_, we had met when we were like four or something. His father was an old friend of my dad's, and so when my dad had gotten really sick with kidney cancer, Sasuke's father had paid for all of the chemo therapy and operations. He was the reason my dad lived, and I owed him a lot. So in return, I became little Sasuke's first friend.

Big mistake.

He spat on me! The first time we met, I had accidentally gotten sand in his eyes from the sandbox, and we ended up in an all out fist fight. And the little brat spat on me! If that doesn't say wuss, I don't know what does. I returned the favor with a wet willy, and a mega wedgie. And from then on, we were best friends. I thought we were something called 'frienemies' that Sakura was talking about. But in reality, we don't hate each other. He just thinks I'm an idiotic dobe, and I think hes an asshole teme. See? There's a difference.

Oh! Yea, I'm supposed to tell you why we were going on a road trip. Well, Sasuke got the job that he had been working for. I could never have done it. Not because I lack the brains like Sasuke likes to tell me (stupid bastard), but because I could never sit in an office all day doing paperwork and stocks and whatever the hell they do. It's why I'm an artist. I can be inside or outside, and do whatever the hell I want whenever I want to. Heck, I had made almost a grand on a panting of my ramen cup with flowers in it. And people said artists were the dumb ones. We've got you fooled thinking what we make is art.

Did I just get off topic again? Damnit! Alright, let me just show you the conversation me, the jerk, and Sakura had over dinner four months ago.

"Happy Valentine's day guys!" Sakura's cheerful voice was followed by two pink-wrapped gifts. Since none of us were going out with anyone, we had decided it was better to celebrate together than mope alone. Well, me and Sakura decided, while Sasuke rolled his eyes and tagged along. I smiled and took mine; while Sasuke treated his like it was a bomb. I couldn't blame him I guess, since one of his fangirls had put sleeping power in his gift in an attempt to kidnap him. No, I'm not joking.

"Thanks Sakura!" I ripped the paper open, not caring that some of it fell into my ramen. I'd just pick it out later or something. Sasuke took his time ripping the paper, as if he was going to use it again. Even when he was rich he could be a cheap bastard. "Oh wow! This is the sketch journal I was looking for! Where the hell did you find it?"

"Sai found it for me. He's an art geek too." She winked at the affectionate nickname. At one point, it had been a put down because in middle school, Sakura hung out with the popular snobs. But after me and the teme rescued her from almost getting raped in our freshman year, she ditched the 'Barbies' and hung us with us totally cool guys! And yea, I said plural. _Sometimes _Sasuke has his moments, like when he roundhouse-kicked that asshole into the wall! And I…well, I checked on Sakura, introduced us, and stuff. Hey, I'm an important part of this trio!

"Aw you're the best Sakura!" She laughed and shrugged, blushing at the attention.

"Thanks Naruto."

"Hn." I looked over to the personalized wrappings that Sakura had gotten for Sasuke. Since being rich, handsome, and popular wasn't enough for Sasuke, he also had to be strong. Which meant that while I just ran around and beat people up with crazy moves I made up, he took karate and had become extremely good at it. So the wrappings for his hands and feet were probably the best thing Sakura could find to give the kid who had everything. Calmly he looked up at her and nodded, signaling the approval of the gift. He wasn't much of a talker that night. Well, less so than he is normally.

"Alright boys, what'd you get me?" I laughed at her excited expression before I pulled out my present, tossing it to her.

"You're just lucky I sold that city painting last week. Otherwise I'd be giving you a biiiiiiiiig hug for your present."

"She said present, not torture." I growled over at Sasuke, who smirked for the first time all night.

"You just wait! One of these days, you're going to get mauled by a fox and I'm not going to save your sorry ass." Scrunching my nose and turning away, I heard Sakura's laughter at the sheer absurdity of my statement. We lived in New England in a plain little town. There were no foxes. But if there was one, you bet it'd go for Sasuke. Maybe I'll bring him to a zoo and push him into the fox cage.

"Oh Naruto!" I grinned at my successful work. Luckily I had Sakura's best girl Ino question her about what she wanted. And I had been able to find the emerald necklace that she had been talking about with Ino for weeks now. What can I say; I'm a ladies' man. "You asked Ino what I wanted, didn't you?"

"So what? You got what you wanted in the end, who cares how I got it?" I said, crossing my arms and sticking my tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes before hitting me in the forehead. I laughed despite the hit. I knew she liked it, whether she wanted to admit it to me.

"Here," Sasuke said, sliding a package over to her. Even though Sasuke never admitted it, he did enjoy our company. He thought I was an airhead, and that Sakura had anger issues, and we thought he was too emo and needed to get the stick out of his ass. Well okay, so that last part was really only me. But one day I would prove to the world there was one in there.

Sasuke had ended up getting Sakura three of the DVDs for the show 'Lost'. She had this crazy obsession with it that I could never get into. I tried to watch some of it with her one time, and I ended up just getting pissed off at how dumb everyone was. And that's saying something coming from me. But if Sakura liked it, who was I to rain on her parade? Besides, I had my obsession with stuff, like ramen. It was the food of the Gods, and anyone who disagreed with me was evil. Sasuke hated ramen, for example.

"Well, aren't you two going to switch up presents?" I mentally groaned at this part. When we were freshman, Sakura had gotten mad at me and Sasuke because we didn't get each other presents for Valentine's Day. We tried to explain to her that we're _guys_, and we're not supposed to. But she can be pretty convincing when her eyes get all teary and her lower lip starts to tremble. I caved instantly and started to cry with her too, because I'm a sap. But the hard ass just sighed and muttered about needing to find new acquaintances. So now, seven years later, we were still stuck getting each other things.

"If yours is ticking, I'm not opening it," I grumbled, grabbing the small bag I had thrown his present in. Sliding it over the table, he seemed to smirk and placed my 'present' in front of me. Shaking it and sighing when I heard nothing moving, I waited until he opened his present. He stared at it for a moment before slowly looking up at me with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look. Hinata put a lot of effort into that." And it was true. An old time friend of ours named Hinata worked as a massage therapist a couple towns down. Because her entire spa used homemade things, she knew how to create specialized oils and lotions. And since Sasuke was always working too hard and hurting his body between work and karate, I decided to have Hinata make a special pain relieving lotion. Sure it ended up with the scent of oranges, but who cares? When you're in pain, anything will suffice.

"Hn." Didn't anyone ever tell him that wasn't a word? I mean really, someone needs to show him in the dictionary there is no…oh wow, there is an 'hn'. But unless he was talking about some colorless explosive or the head nurse, it doesn't count!

"Should have gone with the Advil to stop that constant pms of yours." I sighed and started to open the present in front of me. It was strange getting something from Sasuke when his family had done so much for mine. Not that I thought that I owed Sasuke anything since all he did was spit on me, but I was getting the same feeling I did every Christmas Eve when our families would get together and exchange presents. It was hard to stomach all the excitement and guilt, since their family always seemed to outdo mine. And Sasuke always seemed to one up me on my V-day presents, because he could. So when I opened the box to see a pair of keys in it, I nearly fainted. No way…

"You got me a car!?" I shouted while standing up, the entire restaurant stopping their conversations to look at us. I glanced around, waving at the situation that made Sakura cover her face. "Don't be jealous."

"Naruto sit down!" Sakura hissed, grabbing my hand and yanking me back into my seat. She was as pink as her hair, and I would have made fun of her, but the glare in her eyes told me not to. So instead, I looked back at the keys that sat innocently in front of me, hesitantly poking them with my finger.

"What's the catch teme? I'm not going to be your slave or nothing for the next year."

"No catch, have it." Why was he being nice? This was not right. Something had to be going wrong. I studied the keys, waiting for them to disappear or start to gnaw on my hand, but nothing happened. I flipped it over slowly, blinking at the familiar scratch.

"Hey! These are your keys. I made this mark when I tried to hijack your car! What the hell are you giving me your keys for?" I asked, looking up at him in confusion. He sighed and slowly glanced between me and Sakura, as if studying our insanity before continuing.

"I don't need it anymore."

"Bullshit. You just got this car a year ago! Don't tell me your dad got you another one?"

"I'm getting a company car when I become an official CEO." I didn't like the way he stared at me, but I kept my eyes on him even as Sakura spoke.

"You got the job?! Congrats! You've been working so hard to get there, but we knew you could do it."

"When do you start?" I asked slowly. He was hiding something. My foxy-senses were tingling.

"I don't start the official job until next September, so I can move and settle in."

"Move?" Sakura asked, slight concern filling her voice. "You're not going to be staying in town?"

"No." For the first time in the entire lifespan that I knew Uchiha Sasuke, I had never seen him hesitate until that day. But he had good reason, because the next sentence would change our lives. "I'm moving to California in June."

"W-What?!" I stared in shock as my fingers gripped the chair I was in. He didn't seem surprised by my reaction, and glanced to the pasta he had been eating before.

"The only thing I had to exchange in order to become the youngest CEO in the history of the cooperation was to switch my living spaces. Since I don't start work until September, there's no reason to leave here until June." Even while he spoke, I shook my head.

"But…but you love this place! I mean you've grown up here! You can't just leave everything behind. What about your family? And your apartment? Don't you think this is really sudden?"

"Naruto! Don't be so nosy! This is a great break for Sasuke, you should be happy for him," Sakura chided, shaking her head in disappointment. I glanced over to her and slowly laughed, rubbing the back of my head.

"Y-Yea your right! I'm just surprised that the jerk actually got the job." I looked up at Sasuke, smiling the best I could. I was being dumb really. If I had been offered a great job for my art, and all I had to do was move, I would have packed my bags and left the next day. And I bet Sasuke wouldn't be questioning my logic or making me feel guilty about leaving my family. And besides, it wasn't like California was too far away. Just…3000 miles. No biggie. "So what day are you leaving for the golden state?"

"Not sure." He shrugged and looked back at the present I gave him, as if it was the most shocking thing at the table. But I'm pretty sure car beats lotion 99% of the time. I stared at him for a minute, listening to Sakura and him continue to talk about how great it was that he got the job. For some reason, I couldn't feel the same happiness. It was frustrating me. I was Sasuke's best friend and I couldn't even be happy for him. What the hell was wrong with me?!

"Let's go together." Apparently a lot of things. Both of them stopped their discussion and slowly looked over at me, the idiot who had opened his mouth without meaning to.

"Excuse me?" He asked slowly, buying me a little time to think of something to make up besides 'I really didn't mean to say that but now that I did, I don't want you to go to that stupid job that you don't want anyways and are only taking for your dad'. I didn't think that would exactly fly with Sasuke or Sakura.

"I mean…let's…go on a road trip! You know…like, drive Sasuke there! "

"Are you crazy? That's over 3000 miles away! It would take forever to get there!" Sakura said, staring at me as if I had just jumped off the loony bus. And maybe I had, because the more I talked about the idea, the more I seemed to like it.

"So what? Sasuke just gave me his car. We'll just drive there and drop Sasuke off, and if we don't want to drive it back, I'm sure money bags here can get it shipped back home while we catch a flight. It'll be like, the last big thing that we all do together before we all split up! And none of us have ever really done anything like this before! We can make a documentary with Sakura's camera about our summer road trip."

"You're serious." I scoffed at Sasuke's lame statement.

"Duh."

"You do realize it's going to cost us a lot of money to go, right?" Sakura asked. Despite her concern, I could tell she was getting just as excited as me. The teme was still stoic.

"There's three of us, and if we all start putting away money now we'll have plenty to stop and do stuff. Sasuke said that his job doesn't even start till September, and your college gets out in May. I don't have to check in with anyone since I'm an independent artist, so we're all set! Now come on guys, let's do something completely irrational for the last time we can. Let's get wild!" I threw my hand in front of the other two, looking up at them and grinning mischievously. Sakura glanced between me and Sasuke for a few seconds before she giggled, placing her hand over mine and sending a reassuring smile.

"It…does sound kind of fun. And I've always wanted to see the country like they do in the movie with the pregnant chick."

"Crossroads." I stared in shock at Sasuke, who only rolled his eyes and glared at me. "My mother went through a bonding faze with me and Itachi. That was her idea."

"No wonder you're moving to California," I muttered, shaking my head at the shivers that went up my spine. But shaking off the jitters, I nodded to our hands. "Come on Sasuke, live a little."

"Whatever." And with his hand dropping on ours, the plans began. So fast forwarding to four months later…where were we? Oh yea!

"Ca-Can't breathe…" I gasped out, Sakura rolling her eyes at my antics before releasing my throat. Apparently, five AM was too early for the pink princess. But someone told me I must have eaten the energizer bunny one day because it took a Mack truck to make me run out of energy.

"Why did we have to start so early? Does he even know we're on our way?" She mumbled, rubbing her eye lazily as she grabbed her two backpacks. Luckily the car had enough space between the backseat and the trunk to fit all of our stuff and then some. This was such a sweet car. It should have worried me that Sasuke was rich enough to give away a Porsche and still be perfectly wealthy.

"He will when we get there, now won't he?" I asked, grinning over to her. We moved out into the cold air, the sun already peeking over the horizon and greeting us. I grabbed her stuff, throwing it in the back while she flipped open her camera, holding it up to record me. "What are you doing?"

"Taking one last shot of you before Sasuke kills you for waking him up," She said, making me growl and snatch the camcorder back from her. I focused in on her face, snickering when I took a shot of the bags under her eyes.

"Nice raccoon eyes. You look like Gaara from high school!" She quickly covered her eyes before moving into the car, blushing the entire time.

"Naruto! You're going to be dead by the end of this road trip!" Maybe, knowing the two I was with. But hey, at least I would have fun before I went. I laughed and moved into the car, turning the camera to face me and pulling Sakura next to me with my arm.

"Why ello. Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura here! We're about to go tackle a wild beast from the wilderness! He's big, bad, and gots a nasty temper. The Sasuke-saurus. I'm gonna go in there, and have a go at wresting this nasty creature to the ground. I may not come out alive. Crikey!" My Australian accent set both of us into a burst of laughter, probably from lack of sleep. We finally manage to drive ourselves over to the Uchiha mansion, exchanging hellos with the doorman before I ran up the stairs I had known for over a decade. Once we got to Sasuke's room, I popped the camera back on and handed it to Sakura, whispering. "You ready?"

"I'm staying in the doorway so I can make a break for it. This is one of your worst ideas ever Naruto!" Still I didn't let her warning stop me as I moved into the room quietly, letting my eyes adjust to the slightly darker bedroom. Some of the sunlight peeked in, making it easier to avoid the things he had scattered on the floor. It wasn't much, but still could cause too much noise if I had hit them. Once I had reached the bed, I glanced back at Sakura and winked, waving to the camera. I slid my knee onto the bed, looking down at him.

It was strange how handsome the Uchiha family really was. Even though Sasuke was the youngest, he was pretty good looking for a dude. I was still hotter, but I had to give a guy his props when they were due. And looking down at his face when it was sleeping, I closed my eyes halfway and smiled. His hair was twisting in so many ways, I don't think it was gravitationally possible. His lips were parted slightly, the back of one of his hands brushing against them every so often. Pale as an albino bunny, Sasuke practically glowed from the lack of light in his room. It was weird to see how…peaceful he was when he wasn't awake.

Alright, enough of this mushy shit.

"Crikey!!" I shouted before jumping onto Sasuke in the bed. He must not have been a heavy sleeper, because he instantly woke up and tried to beat the crap out of me. I rolled and avoided his hits, finally pinning him onto the bed when his feet got tangled in his own blanket. I laughed and glanced up at my camera woman, smiling. "I've captured the Sasuke-saurus! Come in and have a look at him. Isn't he a beauty?"

"Naruto…"

"Listen to him growl! When a Sasuke-saurus sends out a warning growl, watch out! He is very deadly, and can strike out at any time. His death move is the Uchiha glare, so never look the beast in the eye unless you're a trained professional like me." I knew that Sakura was both laughing and fearing for our lives when she walked into the room, sending an apologetic smile to Sasuke.

"Sorry Sasuke, I think Minato let Naruto have coffee this morning." I watched him glare at the camera and snort, finally bucking me off of him and to the floor. I yelped when my ass hit the wood, whining while I rubbed my tailbone.

"Shut the camera off." Sakura instantly closed the camera, stepping back from Sasuke who ran his fingers through his hair. After a few combs, he somehow managed to tangle the wild strands.

"Good morning Sasuke! Did you like your wake-up call?" When his glare turned deadlier, I quickly held my hands up in peace. "We brought some Mcgriddles if you want breakfast. They're your favvvvorite."

"No there're not."

"Oh."

"It's 5:30 in the morning." I looked at his clock and nodded.

"Yup."

"Why are you here?"

"Today's the day for the road trip! Did you forget already?" He sighed and stood up, walking past me and over to his closet, seeming to be awake and control of the slight emotion he showed when half-asleep. He dragged out a backpack and threw it at me, causing me to fall back over onto the ground. I struggled to sit back up when he moved into the bathroom connected to his room, getting changed."What was that for, teme?!"

"Learn to catch, dobe." His muffled insult came through the wooden door, making me want to snatch the camera and video tape him changing for all his fangirls. Now _that _would be good revenge. But instead, I simply growled when the guy emerged from the bathroom.

"Boys, it's way too early to fight," Sakura mumbled, rubbing her temple weakly while she sighed. I had to admit, Sakura must have had some type of special super power that let her deal with me and Sasuke as much as she did. Then again, I'm pretty sure even Sasuke flinched when she was PMSing.

"Let's just get going. The sooner I get away from this idiot, the better." Ouch. That kind of hurt. But laughed it off, wrapping an arm around each of my best friends and pulling them closer to me.

"This is going to be the best road trip ever! Believe it!" Sasuke sighed while Sakura smacked her forehead, both letting me rant about the trip that was about to unfold. And hey, maybe they didn't believe me at the beginning. But by the end…

They never doubted Uzumaki Naruto again.

~**~

Do you want to know the only set back to driving with an Uchiha? Besides their crappy music, of course. They wouldn't let an Uzumaki or Haruno drive, even if it wasn't their car anymore. Sakura was fine with that, since she got the entire back seat to herself. But me? I was not happy. Currently I was pouting in the passenger seat, staring out the window at the forest we were driving by. I knew it from when I was little as the 'Forest of Chakra' or some weird stuff my dad used to tell me about. He said that it was a horrible forest that was known for mysteriously killing people. I never believed it until one of our classmates went in, and ended up getting severely hospitalized. And when anyone asked him about it, he said he couldn't remember a thing. After that, I decided dad wasn't as crazy as I thought.

"You still scared of that place?" I tensed before glaring back at Sasuke.

"No way! I bet you wet yourself whenever you go near it."

"Sure, dobe. The fear is written on your face."

"I'd knock you out if you weren't driving." Or at least try. But he didn't need to hear that last part. He probably knew it anyways by the way he scoffed.

"Sometimes I wonder about your mental health." Since I couldn't hit him I did the next best thing.

"Sakura! Tell him to knock it off!" She sighed and shook her head, glancing back to the map that was resting on her lap. Since she was a way better map reader than me (all those lines make me sick) and Sasuke was too busy being a jerk and driving, Sakura became the designated map girl. And she looked cute, the huge map laid out on her little legs. Sakura had always been pretty, even if she was self-conscious about herself. Remember the snobby girls she used to hang out with? They used to always comment about her forehead. It was good she found us and Ino, because those girls were part vulture. Ino had set them straight though, and had become Sakura's best pal after that. I was half surprised the blonde didn't tag along. But she was working at an internship for the summer and couldn't afford to take the time off.

"The map says that we need to get onto the next highway on the right. We'll have to get off in about seven exits, and then we'll be leaving the state."

"Sakura!"

"Shut up dobe. It's too early to listen to you whine."

"Why did I even bother to come on this trip? All you've done is made fun of me and driven my car. If you crash it, you're paying for the repairs!" I crossed my arms and slouched in my seat, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. Was it just me, or did I see a smile on his face? Doubt it. Maybe he ate something funny before we left; Mcgriddles could do that to people. Never trust something that gushes syrup from the middle.

"You're comedic relief."

"Sasuke!" Sakura patted my shoulder from the back seat, shaking her head. "We wouldn't have as much fun without you being here. Right Sasuke?"

"Hn." I should have known. Expecting anything other than grunts from Sasuke would be stupid. How people decided he was a genius I didn't know. So I puffed my cheeks out and pouted. We were _so _making a pit stop at a fox sanctuary.

The next twenty minutes we spent quietly observing the last remaining parts of the state. Most of Massachusetts was cool looking, and I never got tired of the scenery. But I just wanted to see more than just the bay state. I wanted to explore what else was out there, and how different the world was. I'd heard so much about the south and west, but my parents never seemed to have the same travel itch that I did. And now that I was old enough, I was going to scratch it.

"That jerk just cut us off!" Oh, and yell at people along the way. But it was that guy's fault, nearly hitting us off the road to get to his exit. If there was one thing I planned to enjoy, it was not having to deal with traffic. Hopefully wide open plains really meant 'Away from people who care more about their dunkin doughnuts than their lives'. "You should honk the horn at him!"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"I'm not an animal."

"Neither am I! You have to take control of the road!"

"Control of the road?" He asked slowly, arching an eyebrow as he took our exit.

"Yea. Show them who's in charge of this highway. Besides, God put horns into a car for a reason, and the reason was to honk them."

"God didn't put horns in cars."

"Shut up! You don't know. Maybe he went all 'burning bush' again and told the guy to put a horn in." Hey, it could happen. Didn't that Moses guy talk to a bush? Something like that, I wasn't exactly the theologist of the group. Oh yea, I knew a word bigger than three syllables. Beat that Sasuke!

"You are an idiot."

"You love me." He sent me a look before looking forwards again, seeming to ignore my declaration of adoration. Fine, be a snob. "I hate you too!"

"You do not." Sakura hit me softly in the back of the head, leaning hers in-between our seats and smiling. "You two have been attached at the hip since you were little."

"It was forced." He seriously got way too cranky when people woke him.

"At least I didn't spit on you."

"You're still holding that grudge?"

"You're damn right I am! That's just disgusting!"

"I was four."

"You should have known."

"Boys, boys! Look!" I looked up when Sasuke slowed the car on the side of the road; all three of us staring at the sign that read 'Thank you for visiting the Bay state'. I swallowed weakly as I stared up at it, realizing that it was the real deal. We were really going to do this, weren't we?

"Scared?" I glanced over at Sasuke quickly, who sighed and rolled his eyes. "This is your last chance. I'm not turning back around after this."

"Well you better not, because I'm ready to go! Watch out America, Uzumaki Naruto is coming for you! Believe it!" I winked at him and threw out a thumbs up, smiling when Sakura giggled behind me.

"Believe it? You still say that?" He asked dryly.

"At least they're actual words teme!" He watched me for a moment, an unreadable look in his eyes. Maybe it was unreadable because I wasn't analyzing it right. Because if I had known what I was looking for, maybe I would have stopped the trip. But I challenged his gaze with my own, leaning forwards a bit. "Why, Sasuke? You scared?"

"I'm the one moving."

"….so what?! You could still be scared!"

"Dobe."

"Let's go!" Sakura pointed between us, making me jump in surprise. When she laughed at my shock, I shrugged and looked to Sasuke again.

"Onward march!" He started to move the car until I suddenly grabbed the dashboard. "Wait!"

"What now?" Sakura asked. I laughed sheepishly before glancing to my lap.

"I've gotta pee."

"You've got to be kidding."

"Naruto! I told you to go before we picked up Sasuke."

"I know I know, but I didn't have to go then! Gah I'll be right back!" I shot out of the door, quickly running into the set of bushes near the deserted road. So once I finished nature's call, we finally set out of Massachusetts and into the wild unknown.

~**~

Boy the unknown sure was boring. I'm pretty sure that Pennsylvania was the most pointless state I had ever been to. There were nothing but cow pastures and dead grass. The highways were long and barren, and the only thing that broke the monotony was random signs that meant nothing to me. I could tell that Sakura was starting to overheat from the constant waving of her hand, so I quickly popped on the air conditioning to help her out. Sasuke was usual Sasuke, totally uninteresting and bland. Why the girls flocked to his never quite sat well with me.

So, I decided to spice things up a bit. I quickly unbuckled myself, crawling to face the back of my seat before starting to rummage in the stuff we had packed.

"Naruto! What are you doing, you're going to get hurt." I looked up at Sakura and shook my head, pulling out the camera and starting to turn it on.

"Don't worry; I've got balance like a fox!"

"The saying is cat, moron." I ignored the driver before pressing record, glancing up at Sakura and then taking in the scenery around.

"Hello again! We have been driving for about seven hours now, and the current location is boringsville Pennsylvania. Oh! Say hi to the camera Sasuke!"

"No."

"And that was Sasuke in his normal cheery mood. Maybe if he let someone else drive he wouldn't be so crabby, but he's got control issues." I caught his glare on the camera before glancing back at Sakura. "So Sakura, what do you want to do while Sasuke finds a place to grab food?"

"Well...we could play 'I spy' if you wanted."

"Great! Alright! I'll start. I spy with my little eye…" I glanced around the car slowly, my eyes brightening when I focused on the yellow umbrella that Sakura had packed. "Something yellow!"

"An umbrella." What?! How did he….but he's….and the road…

"You cheated!"

"How?"

"Grr…I spy something blue!"

"The information sign."

"Green!"

"The pasture."

"The idiot in the car!"

"Naruto." Okay, so I let myself fall into that one. Instead of admitting it, I scoffed.

"Nobody said you could play anyways! You're supposed to be finding us a restaurant, not playing—" …Oh what the hell. I didn't even say 'I spy' and he found it. Well he had to be good at _some _things I guess.

"Oh this is great! I'll go grab us some food if you want. I've got to stretch my legs and use the rest room anyways." Instantly my stomach growled at Sakura's suggestion.

"You wanna get me a couple cheeseburgers and a coke?"

"How many?"

"Uhm…five." I tossed her the money, though she barely caught it from her shock.

"Five?! You're going to get fat by the end of this trip if you don't stop eating so much."

"Nah, I'll be fine. I've got a good metabolism." I rubbed my stomach to prove the flatness that I was able to keep. For some reason, my stomach didn't mind the constant food I shoveled into it. Sure I exercised and ran around a lot, but nothing like Sasuke. So I knew it bugged him how easily the weight fell off of me. I was pretty sure I weighed even less than he did.

"What about you Sasuke? What would you like?"

"Anything not deadly to my health." Me and Sakura both sweat dropped at the comment, but she nodded quickly and took his money, moving out of the car with a quick wave of goodbye. I sighed loudly and leaned back in the seat, staring up at the roof of the car.

"You know, you could be a normal person for once in your life and eat some fatty food."

"That's not normal, idiot. That's disgusting."

"Says you. But 95% of the country eats fast food once a week. So beat that." Alright, that wasn't true. More like my family ate fast food 95% of the time, but I needed something to shut him up.

"Did you just make that up?"

"No!"

"Pathetic."

"Teme! I'm so glad you're leaving so I don't have to listen to your big mouth anymore!" I shouted, watching him smirk and shrug.

"You're probably gonna call me the week after you leave to complain about something. It's in your nature to whine. That is why you'll always be a dobe."

"Yea right." I scoffed and glanced away from him and the truth. Even though four months had passed since Sasuke had informed us about the new job, I still didn't accept the fact that Sasuke was leaving. I had tried to ignore it and just focus on the road trip plans for most of the time, but it literally was everywhere I turned. All of our friends had heard about it, and would never leave the dumb topic alone. When I went home, my parents would ask me about him and how the changes were going. The only place that nobody seemed to discuss it was at the Uchiha mansion, because it always seemed to cause a fight between his mother, father, and brother. And let me tell you, being at a table with four Uchihas, who are all glaring and upset, is not fun. I made an effort not to eat dinner with them anymore.

I knew it wasn't anyone's fault he was leaving. After all, we all knew he was too smart to stay where he was now. Even if he really didn't enjoy the job, Sasuke was good with computers and fortelling how the sales would go, what styles were in, and what the next step of the company should be. His dad didn't make a bad choice for his employee, but I wasn't sure that it was the right choice for his son. Maybe that was why I was so against Sasuke leaving!

"Hey, you're not really excited to get this job, huh?" I asked, not bothering to look at him. It never told me anything anyways, so why waste the energy in turning my head.

"It's good money."

"Money isn't happiness. You're rich anyways."

"My _father _is rich. I'm not."

"Same difference, he'd never leave you out to dry. Hell, he doesn't leave me with the need for anything, and I'm not even his son."

"You remind him of your father when they were our age." I blinked at the new information never told to me. Quickly I sat up away from the back of the seat to look at him.

"Really?! I knew my dad was cool when he was our age! Ha! I bet our parents never thought we'd turn out like our dads, huh? Being best friends and all."

"I doubt it," He said, staring out the windshield. I watched him quietly, because if I said something I knew he'd move to make another comment or scoff. His wrists laid lazily on the wheel, in a way that I would expect from me and not someone like Sasuke. His eyes didn't seem to watch anything of particular interest. In fact, the slight dipping of his eyelids showed just how tired he really was. But if I was to even question his ability to drive, I'm sure he'd have a cow. I had never noticed the slight upward tilt of his nose, since I had never really studied his face like this before. Most of the time, he was too busy making my blood boil to give me time to watch him.

"Things aren't gonna be the same without you." I broke his concentration when he looked at me and arched an eyebrow.

"Your being dramatic."

"I am not! It's not like I'm saying I'm gonna miss you or whatever! I'm just saying you're changing everything."

"Hn." We returned to glaring at each other before I looked away, focusing my anger on the windshield in front of me. Fine, if he wanted to be a jerk, I didn't care. I'd just ignore him for the rest of the trip. Sakura was with us, and I could just talk to her. She was better than this teme any day. "Stop. Nothing's going to change."

"Huh?"

"You'll still be annoying no matter where I am. They invented phones and the internet for a reason."

"Yea but you're not gonna be here. You won't be my neighbor and I won't be able to just come in and wake you up or annoy the shit out of you, you'll have your lame ass job and I'll be—"

"Stop talking about it." I looked back at him and quickly felt my eyes widen at the close proximity of our faces. He rolled his eyes, not seeming to notice how our breathing mingled in the small space between us. How could he not? I mean, I could feel the hot air brushing my cheeks in a very uncomfortable way. For someone like Uchiha Sasuke, close contact was a big no-no. So why he felt the need to keep close to me was making my comfort level start to diminish. But it was _Sasuke_. Why the hell would I let him get to me like that? He was probably trying to do it just to make me squirm!

"Ge-Get away you idiot. I don't wanna smell your nasty breath."

"You're too obsessed with my job."

"Well what's wrong with that?!"

"I don't want to talk about it with you." That was true. In fact, after he had announced it to us, he hadn't said a word to be about it. Not like I really brought it up. But still…I growled and jerked my face closer to his, no longer caring about the personal bubble. He was such a prick.

"But you'll talk about it with Sakura and everyone one else. What, you don't think I'm smart enough to get it?" He shrugged and closed his eyes halfway, as if I wasn't worth the strength to keep them open.

"It's possible."

"You're an asshole. I hope you fall in the Sacramento River and foxes eat you alive."

"What's with your obsession with foxes?"

"I like foxes! You got a problem with that?!"

"You're such a whiner."

"I-I am not!" I shouted out, Sasuke slowly pressing one of his palms to his ear.

"You're too loud," He muttered flatly, and I felt my cheeks go red in embarrassment. But there was no way I was apologizing.

"Your fault teme. You should know not to get too close to me."

"Nobody should get close to you. You may have rabies." I hated him. I moved to hit him in the forehead, but being a black belt or whatever, it was his instinct to grab my wrist and pull me forward. The motion caused my head to bump into his shoulder, and leave us in the awkward position of my chest against his (since the damn car didn't come with an armrest), pressed fully along the muscles that definitely did not come from sitting around the house playing rock band. My breath hitched at the strange sensation, because I had never truly been close enough to feel Sasuke's body twitch like that before. I could instantly tell how tense he got against me, his hand tightening a bit around my wrist. I opened my mouth to say something, but it wouldn't come out. This was strange, no matter what I did to try and prevent it. Two best guy friends pressed against each other in a car parked in the corner of a lot did not seem like a book for Reading Rainbow. My gaze was stuck on his shoulder, and how the black tank top underneath his open hoodie was really too tight for his own good. Why did we wear tight clothes again? Something about being stylish. I couldn't really think past the lump in my throat when I realized that both of us had not move in the 30 seconds that had passed. Shouldn't we have freaked out by now?

But quickly I pressed my hand into his chest and pushed back from him when I heard the door open behind us. Thank god for tinted windows.

"Here you go!" Sakura blinked when both of us stared in opposite windows, and I mentally chanted that the blush on my face would disappear. What had just happened?! Why hadn't he moved? Why hadn't I moved? And what the heck was I doing, thinking about his damn tank top!? That was a fan girl's job, not mine! "Eh? Naruto, are you okay? Your face is—"

"I'm fine!" I shouted, quickly grabbing the food from her hand and shoving the first sandwich into my mouth. It took me a second and two confused glances to realize I hadn't bothered to take the paper off of it. Laughing nervously, I turned away from them and played with the half eaten paper, trying to make it seem casual. "Guess the paper isn't as good as I thought it'd be."

"You're so strange Naruto." Sakura laughed at my actions before moving into the car, starting to babble about the long line inside of the restaurant, and the creepy guy who took her order. I didn't really pay attention, glancing at Sasuke from the corner of my eye as he bit into some grilled chicken from his salad. Forcing myself to look away, I stuff my face with the cheeseburgers sitting in my lap, willing the strange feeling to go away with the hunger. Because it couldn't have been caused by him. I shook my head after the last cheeseburger, finally turning to Sakura and listening to the end of her extremely long tale. "…and so I just gave him a glare and left."

"Should have sicked the teme on him, that'd scared him off!" I said, laughing while Sasuke finished his food and tossed it into the bag between us.

"Very funny dobe." We glanced at each other for a moment before I smiled, trying to will away any weird feelings there. He scoffed and turned back to the wheel, starting the car up while Sakura told him where to go. I bet Sasuke felt just as strange about this as I did. And if we were going to be in a car together for a while, I didn't want any bad blood between us. _Besides, it's not like it'll happen again. We were just messing around, it didn't mean anything._

Or…did it?

**Well this is the new one-shot…which isn't a one-shot…but you know how I am, I always put them into complete just in case a dog maims my leg or something and I can't write. Tell me what you think about it! And as you can see, there was a lot of things I don't own…but I do own the name 'Sasuke-Saurus' =P. Tell me what you think and I'll get another chapter out soon after I finish up 'Bite'!**


	2. Mouth Slip

Ng Hello again! Well the first chapter went better than expected –grins-. And I think I've decided that this story is going to be in four parts…I think, don't make me promise it though! It all depends on what this crazy mind tells me to do. Thanks to **fabulosfan **for the sweet first review, and **MasochistandSadist **for trying to be the first reviewer. –Pats head- it's okay, you're still my favorite rabid fangirl. Also, thanks **Serafina,Sakurananachan, Akiru chan **(ha they actually ARE going to Texas in the next part)**, and **(your review made me cry, not kidding!).** XxFiredance, Tarff, zerofangirl, **and **a rather slytherin griffindor, **you guys are becoming regulars! I feel like I have a fanclub –blushes-! This chapter is dedicated to all of you, for sticking with my stories and making me feel better than I ever have before!

**Warning: ****This is not a citrus. I hate limes and lemons, yucky. This is a girlxboy story, so if you don't like it, don't read it. **

**-Note: The pervious warning is a complete LIE, and if you fell for it…-shakes finger- bad reader! Course it's a lemon/boyxboy story! **

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own this series. Yup, that's it, no funny comment or sarcastic remark today. Too tired –yawns-**

**Mouth Slip**

"I was dumb, I was wrong

I let you down

but I know

how I feel

about you now!"

"I think my eardrums just exploded." I growled and glared at Sasuke, who quickly flicked my cd from the player and onto my lap. That jerk could have scratched my disc!

"What the hell?! That's the first song I've listened to all day. We've been listening to your emo stuff for the past five days, and you're just brining this whole trip down! Why'd we bring you anyways?!"

"Because I'm the reason you _thought _of the trip." Oh yea. For some reason, my head kept blocking out that small piece of information. I laughed sheepishly before glancing out the window, watching as the great old Yellowhammer state flew past us. Yea, I bet you probably don't know where that is, huh?

"Where are we stopping in Alabama, Sakura?" I asked, glancing back at her. She seemed concentrated in her road mapping before she looked up, smiling. It was amazing such a cute girl like her didn't have a boyfriend yet.

"I'm thinking Montgomery. It's the capitol and pretty much right in the middle of the state. Then we can stay a night to get rested and we'll be on our way again."

"I'm getting a bed this time. That floor in North Carolina was not comfortable in the least bit!"

"Sorry, no pets allowed on the furniture." I glared back at the driver, who was smirking much wider than he needed to. He was so getting his boxers shoved in the freezer when he fell asleep. I laughed to myself at the idea, getting one look of concern and one of annoyance. "What are you laughing at?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"That's why I asked."

"Well…well I'm not telling you. So beat that!"

"Sasuke, turn left here. Then we'll be able to get into town and find a place to stay for the night." Sasuke did what she told him, and I slumped back in the passenger seat. Sakura had somehow managed to keep her sanity even if this was the fourth fight of the day. Then again the sun was sinking pretty fast, and she would be able to snuggle into her bed once we got to the hotel. That way, she could block out any more of me and the teme's fights.

It wasn't like I meant to fight with him. It just happened. No matter what it was, we were on opposite sides. And since both of us were known for our need to be on top, it was no surprise we spent half of our life fighting and bickering with each other. It was sort of how we started our friendship. I think that because we didn't bend to the will of the other, it added some change in our lives. Or, maybe he was just an asshole.

"Hey look at that!" I blinked and looked up at the sign that Sakura had pointed to, the billboard catching my interest instantly.

"No way! They have a dance club here? We should so go!"

"No."

"Aw come on Sasuke, don't be like that," I said, rolling my eyes and glaring at the older boy. Sometimes he acted like he was eighty instead of twenty two.

"We haven't really gone out in any of the towns we've stopped in. And it's one of the largest cities around here." I knew Sakura would want to go dancing. I mean after all, she had been stuck with just me and Sasuke for so long, she probably forgot what being social meant. I sure as hell did.

"Dance clubs are pointless. I don't want to deal with the people there." Meaning the girls. Because by now, Sasuke knew just how easily girls floated to him. And he never took advantage of it! He was too busy reading or working to have any fun. The only thing he did for himself was karate. One of these days, I was going to show this idiot how to have a real good time.

"Don't worry. I'm sure there are other guys just like you in the area. They'll take care of the fangirl population that doesn't know about you yet." My grin grew wicked when he pulled into the hotel, glancing back to Sakura and watching her laugh when I brought back my Australian accent. " Here, we'll see the Sasuke-saurus in an unfamiliar habitat. His lone living style makes these cramped watering holes extremely irritatin' to him. If the Sasuke-saurus is accompanied by others of his species however, then it'll be at an advantage of staying alive. Unlike most of his kind, the Sasuke-saurus runs _away _from his prey, while the others attack it with their strong teeth and hard bodies! Crikey!"

"Idiot." I yelped when a sharp pain entered the back of my head, rubbing it while I whimpered.

"You're so mean to me! I'm not your prey, Sasuke-saurus."

"Stop calling me that."

"I could call you by your scientific name. Assholian Temevorus." See, I'm pretty damn smart. You all think I just sit at home and suck down ramen. And you're right. But that doesn't mean I suck at arguing. I should have been on the debate team in high school!

"Dobe, get out." Except I wasn't allowed, since Sasuke was on it. And since Iruka knew how we were in class, in the hallways, at sport events, and _everywhere else, _he wouldn't let me join. Instead he got me into art. So I guess in a way it was better for me.

I sighed and pushed out of the car, moving to help Sakura grab her stuff while I slung my backpack on my shoulders. We managed to grab a really nice Hotel and Spa place, with sweet beds and an even sweeter view of the city. I had stared out of the window the entire time that Sakura had gotten ready, fixing her make-up and shit like that. Apparently, what she looked like with us was 'not acceptable' for actual guys. So she fixed her hair, touched up on her make-up, and wore a very sexy pink dress that even I could admit made her look much older than normal. Sakura was always cute, and her face made her look 19ish instead of 21. Plus she had always had an issue with the smallness of her chest, since Ino was two sizes bigger than her. But the dress pushed what little she had into a very appealing sight, and I had a feeling me and Sasuke were going to have to beat some guys up. Okay, well maybe just Sasuke because I planned to be out dancing with every girl I could!

Once I realized Sakura was practically done, I jumped into the shower and changed, keeping the casual apparel I usually wore. There was no need to get all fancy like Sakura, since men weren't expected to look good. And even if we were, I was hot enough to pull the lazy look off. I had barely managed to glance into the mirror before Sakura was grabbing my hand, dragging me toward the car. Apparently, she was much more excited to come in contact with the male species than I thought.

"You move any faster and you're gonna break your ankle with those heels!"

"I'm a girl Naruto, I know how to walk."

"Yea, like a guy."

"You dummy!" The entire car ride I stayed silent, rubbing the dark red hand mark that stung my cheek. Sometimes Sakura was way too strong for my personal health. She scared me more than the teme! So I decided that nursing my injury would be safer than trying to talk to the steaming girl. Hopefully she _would _find someone to dance with. That way she'd forget that we were fighting in the first place.

"You deserved that." Why did I want him to come with us to the club? It wasn't like he would dance or even move from one spot the entire night. And honestly, having him around made it a lot harder to find a suitable girl. In fact, the one girl in high school who liked me more than Sasuke was Hinata. Still, I knew that she was better off with Kiba, a goofy kid who I had played baseball with back in high school. The two had gotten married at a very early age, and now lived a few towns away from us. It was nice seeing Hinata the couple times I stopped by to check up on Sasuke's present all those months back. She seemed truly happy.

"You just like seeing me in pain you asshole. I hope a mob of ugly girls molest you the entire night." Well with what he changed into, I wouldn't be surprised. The guy's outfit practically screamed 'I'm dangerous and you can't handle me'. This, for most girls in this backwards world, meant that he was perfect. The idiot had on black jeans that matched the black button up shirt he wore. It was pointless really; since he left it open with a white tank top underneath. It clung to his body in ways that showed just how tone karate made you. I squirmed a bit when I realized it was the same type of tank top from the first day of our trip.

Yea I still remembered it. Not like I bothered to talk about it to Sasuke or anything. If I did that, he'd think I liked it or something. And I didn't! The only reason my stomach felt weird was because I was hungry. It had nothing to do with Sasuke. He's an asshole _and _a guy. What else could I not ask for? So I was just going to ignore the strange moment in the car and chuck it onto the 'things that should have never happened' shelf in my brain. Right next to Chouji in spandex…blah!

"We're only staying till midnight. Then we're leaving. If you don't want to, you can walk back to the hotel." Spoken like a true jerk.

"Yes mom," I said, looking away from him when he pulled into a parking lot. The club was _huge! _It looked like a mini mall or something!

"I think we should stay together, just to be safe." I nodded slowly before turning my attention back to the pink haired cutie.

"Yea, don't want you getting abducted or anything. Those guys are going to crawl on you like a soldier on the ground," I said, grinning at her blush.

"They will not. You're just being strange again!" I laughed and moved out of the car, helping Sakura out while Sasuke made sure all the doors were shut and locked. The last thing we needed was our car to get stolen when we were in Alabama. I don't think Sasuke brought enough money to buy a brand new car anytime soon.

"You ready dobe?" Sasuke's voice drifted along my ear, and I glanced up to the close face in front of me. The stupid jerk was probably trying to psych me out so we wouldn't go. So in retaliation, I grinned and leaned closer to him. His eyes narrowed as well as they could with our faces that close.

"I've been ready teme. Bring on the fun. And don't get too jealous when I sweep all those girls off of their feet."

"You? I find that hard to believe." I almost moved my fingers to my mouth when I felt his breath pass it. It was strangely warmer than I expected from someone like Sasuke. But I quickly stopped myself, balling the hand into a fist in subconscious protest. What the hell was I thinking?! How girly would that make me look? It was just Sasuke, not some cutie or anything. Watching his smirk curl against his lips caused heat to rise in my cheeks and that familiar ache in my stomach to return. Since when did that smirk look so…sexual? No no no no, it wasn't! My mind was just playing tricks on me.

"You better believe it. I'm a ladies magnet." Yea, that's right! Why was I even thinking about that? I liked girls, not pricks. This stupid idiot was just messing with me on purpose or something, he had to be.

"I doubt you get one girl to notice you tonight."

"Watch and learn teme." I winked at him before pulling away; humming my way over to the line that I could see Sakura was waiting in. Apparently our idea wasn't unheard of, because the place looked packed. But the line moved fast, and we were able to get the green glowing wristbands from the front door before submerging ourselves in the crowds.

It was insane. I had never been in a place so big before. Our town didn't have things like dance clubs or parties like this, and so I think we were all a little shell shocked at what we saw. I mean come on, it's not every day you see girls in daisy duke shorts and checkered belly shirts sliding around on elevated poles! It was every guy's fantasy! The music was extremely loud, and a blend between country, techno, and rap. Well, it was Alabama, so I wasn't surprised when I discovered that it was a country themed club. Some of the people were dressed in said theme, and I even got a cowboy hat thrown onto my head while we looked for a place to organize our thoughts. Luckily there was a set of tables along the side for people to rest at or set their drinks on.

"This place is crazy!" I shouted over the music, glancing between my two companions. Sasuke seemed bothered but didn't speak up, probably from sheer pride. Sakura, who was practically buzzing with excitement, giggled.

"I love it! We should come out more often when we stop," She said, and I couldn't help but agree. Parties, no matter how small, always gave me an extra boost of energy. I felt almost like I needed energy to bounce off of in order to keep going. With all the boring time I spent with Sasuke, it was a miracle I hadn't been stuck on empty.

"Alright Sakura, let's go out there and show them how it's done!" I grabbed Sakura and glanced to the teme, smirking. "Oh, and if you wanna embarrass yourself out there, please be by guest."

"Hn." But he rose despite the obvious distaste of the place and followed us into the crowd. For a little while it was the three of us, all dancing together and having a pretty good time. It was more exciting when me and Sakura grabbed Sasuke's hands, forcing him to move. He sure could be a stick in the mud at these kinds of things. And that was the last thing we needed when we were having the time of our lives!

"Hey there…partners." Suddenly, a voice I didn't know entered the air. Glancing back at the spot Sasuke instantly located, I found a short 'cowgirl' standing behind us. Her attire was the same as the dancers, except the cleavage practically poured out of her shirt. I didn't stare because I was a guy, but more like because I didn't think it was physically possible for those things to fit into such a small shirt. I should have been drooling at the sight, because she was pretty hot, but for some reason my mouth was perfectly fine. Heck, I didn't even react to her as much as I reacted to Sasuke!

Okay, don't want to start thinking about that again.

"I really love guys with dark hair. I think it's so sexy." Her voice brought me back from my thoughts. Somehow she had moved to Sasuke, and was running her fingers through his hair. He scoffed and pulled his head back a bit. I stared at the girl while she giggled, slowly crossing my arms. Okay, so the blonde haired bimbo was another fangirl. Great, just great.

"Naruto, knock it off." I blinked and stopped the glare I had unintentionally created. Sakura sent me a look that said 'don't get so jealous', though she was kind enough not to add that into real words. Seeing the new girl scowl at me, I laughed and shrugged, making myself smile.

"Sorry. Must have been jealous of the teme getting such pretty girls." Girls loved compliments. Its how any guy could get out of a sticky situation. My theory was proven when she giggled and turned back to Sasuke, continuing with the obvious flirting. I watched her hand slowly slid along his arm to touch his shoulder in a way I had never seen a girl touch him before. Sure, he had a lot of girls fawn over him. But none of them really touched him like this chick was. I shifted on my feet a bit and scanned the crowd to try and keep myself from staring. Maybe I was just uncomfortable with knowing this girl wanted Sasuke? No, girls did that all the time. He just never let them touch him before.

"Don't touch me." See? He was very anti-personal-space-bubble popping. But the girl didn't seem to get the hint, because her overly-glossed lips smiled brighter and I felt myself frown at her persistent attempts. Girls sure were different around here. I wasn't sure I liked it.

"Well how are we going to dance if you won't let me touch you?" And there she was again, touching his shoulder.

"No." Didn't she get the hint? He didn't want her around him. Even I could see that, and I was supposed to be the dumb one (stress of the word supposed). I opened my mouth to tell her what an ice prick he was, and how he never danced with girls. How he wasn't up for sale, and that she shouldn't be touching him so familiarly. How truly pissed off I was getting at seeing her damn hand resting so intimately on his shoulder, and how only certain people could touch him. Certain people like me.

"The only reason he won't dance is because he sucks at it." Instead, I just made up a challenge. It took me a second to shake my head out of the clouds and realize that Sasuke was my friend, not some girl I had possession over. I should be trying to _help _him get some, not scare it away. Gah I was being stupid. Sure me and Sasuke were close, we had grown up together. It was only natural to feel a bit uncomfortable with new people coming into our lives. That was it; I just needed time to get used to it!

"Shut up dobe."

"What, you scared to try and prove me wrong? You probably flop around like a fish out of water!"

"That would be you, fishcake." Stupid meaning of my name. My parents _really _must have been drunk when they decided to name me Naruto, which meant 'fishcake'.

"Then prove me wrong jerk! I dare ya!" Why did I keep opening my mouth? Even when I laughed and smirked on the outside, my stomach hurt. Why didn't I just let Sasuke dump the girl and stay with us the entire night? It was where he belonged! Well…not anymore though. Sasuke was going to be in California and there'd be several girls there who would do the same thing as this one. He couldn't say no forever, right?

"Fine." …but that didn't mean he could say yes now! I opened my mouth to protest quickly, but the girl wasted no time in dragging her now 'complying' partner onto the dance floor. I grumbled weakly and crossed my arms, glaring out at the two before looking away. They had been out there for twenty seconds and she already had her ass shoved into his hips so deep, they'd need a shovel to dig her out later.

"I don't like her." It must have come to a surprise to Sakura to hear me say that. I normally liked everyone, it was this weird habit I had. If I thought someone was an asshole or jerk, I'd become their friend and change them. Don't ask me how, because it's too long of a process to explain. Mainly it involves lots of talking and a few good punches. I should have become a motivational speaker instead of an artist the way I converted people to the good side. But I did not feel quite so inspirational right now. I just felt angry.

"Naruto, we don't even know her," Sakura defended, like I knew she would. I glanced to her and pointed a finger at the…couple in front of us.

"Oh Sasuke seems to be getting to know her quite well!"

"Are you jealous?"

"Not at all!"

"You sound jealous."

"I'm not! That girl is just…she's just too clingy. And Sasuke hates clingy! It's a horrible match."

"You're the one who told him to go."

"I didn't think he'd do it! He's a cold bastard, not a dancing idiot. That's my job!" Although looking back at them, he was doing it pretty well. Now to make matters even worse, the girl had her arm around his neck. So even if the teme decided to pull away, he wouldn't get far. She was like a leech or something.

"Maybe you're right." I didn't know why Sakura suddenly agreed with me until I saw Sasuke stop moving. The girl's other hand was now resting against Sasuke's inner thigh, in a very provocative manner. The girl had only known him for a few minutes and already she was going that far?! Alright, the Uzumaki court has decided this girl is guilty of slutty intentions.

I didn't bother to care about Sakura calling my name when I moved over to them. I didn't bother to acknowledge the strange look Sasuke gave me when I yanked the girl's hand back. And I certainly didn't give a shit about her glare.

"Find someone to do that to. He's not like that." And then, grabbing Sasuke's wrist in the process, I stormed away from the girl and toward one of the exits of the club. So what if people stared? I didn't care. I just wanted to get away from that stupid girl and her idea of a 'dance' when really it should have been considered sexual harassment. What is the point of grabbing someone's thigh unless you're trying to signal the idea of sex? It's not like the thigh is a particularly interesting part unless it's around your hip! And no, that didn't mean I wanted that situation to occur either.

So I didn't let go of his wrist until I felt the cooling air from outside of the club. The back of the club was quiet, and only had a few cars that I assumed were for employees. The view was strange, because it was nothing but flat plains. The club must have been on the boarder of the town, away from the middle of the city. I sighed and closed my eyes, wiping the sweat from the earlier dancing. Finally I glanced back to Sasuke, who had returned to his normal pose. You know the one where he crossed his arms and makes himself look like a bad ass? Yup, that one.

"What is your problem?"

"My problem!? You were the one letting that girl grab you like a lifeline! You get pissed when I look at you the wrong way, and yet you meet some random girl and its all gropes ahead! Gah you're such a bastard!" He arched his eyebrow slowly, only adding to the normal Uchiha composure. I'm telling you, he practices this kind of stuff in the mirror at night!

"You told me to dance with her, dobe."

"Since when do you listen to me teme?!" I growled out.

"Now I remember why I normally don't." I ignored his comment as I moved toward him, continuing to glare. I grabbed his arm the same way she had done, ignoring the fact that I didn't need to be as close as I was. It didn't matter right now anyways. All I was focused on was the fact that Sasuke was staring down at me like I was crazy. Yea, because I was the one acting completely out of normalcy here!

"So you like her?"

"No."

"Why the hell would you let her touch you then?!"

"I told her not to."

"That's bullshit! Nobody grabs Uchiha Sasuke forcibly like this—" And suddenly, my body was moving without listening to the small voice in the back of my head. My hand glided the inside of his thigh, ghosting the area she had grabbed. I felt the muscle beneath my hand flex a bit at the touch; making it known that Sasuke was lean all over. The kid was made of pure muscle, and there wasn't a goddamn ounce of fat on him! My cheeks flushed at the realization that I was practically molesting my best friend, in the middle of a random deserted lot in the back of a club. I swallowed weakly and knew that the embarrassment reflected in my eyes as I stared into two pools of midnight above me. Still, my mouth didn't seem to catch the memo to shut the hell up. "And…and gets away alive."

Jesus those jeans left nothing to the imagination. I heard myself asking the same question about tight clothing, feeling a sense of déjà vu. Our pants were pretty snug for a twenty somethings. Gosh his thigh was toned. I wondered how many hours a day this guy spent at the karate studio. Maybe I should have started taking karate if I would've gotten a body like that. Deciding I wanted to die swiftly, my fingers slightly spread wider on the jean covered thigh, exploring more of the body in front of me. It was like a train wreck. No matter how badly I wanted to stop, to look away, I knew I couldn't. Was this why girls fell for him so fast?

I think I may have just stumbled a bit with them.

"You planning on letting me go anytime soon, dobe?" I blinked once to realize that even though I was staring straight into his eyes, I had zoned out. Crap, I had been feeling him up, huh? This was so messed up, especially when I felt my head shake and I tried to save face.

"W-why? You let her do it!"

"You idiot. You're the one who started this."

"I didn't tell you to let her feel you up! I don't want any girl doing that to you asshole!" My eyes widened in surprise, and I felt my hand drop from his arm to cover my mouth. What was I rambling about? Of course I wanted someone to eventually settle down with Sasuke! I may hate the idiot at times, but even he deserved to get someone. He was going to find someone in California, get them to fall in love with him through idiotic means, and end up falling for them without realizing it. The two will share a romantic kiss, have sex, get married, have kids, get old, and die together. And yea, it had to be in that order, because there was no way Sasuke would knock up some girl without marrying her first! I thought back on what I planned out for him. Did I really want that? Well yea, I mean…well I should have, right? God damnit, it was the same reaction as the stupid job! What did he do to me? I saw him start to open his mouth, and I panicked. I didn't want to hear his voice. If I heard his voice, it meant that this was real. So I had to just…shut him up.

And I did a pretty good job. After all, what better way to shut someone up than shock the hell out of them? And nothing I said would have made him stop, since he can be as stubborn as me when he needs to be. And…well…he was the one who said I talked too much! He always talked about my mouth, about how big it is and how I should use it for something useful. Well, right now, I made him eat his words. My mouth was stuck to his like glue, in the most unplanned kiss I had ever experienced. Still I didn't stop, closing my eyes tightly and letting my body fall into his, trapping my hand between us.

And hey, I found one part of him that was soft. His mouth was warm and pretty dry now that I made his mind blank. In apology I slide my tongue against the inside walls of his mouth, trying to help moisten them with my own salvia. Well, that was the reason I'd give him if he asked. To be truthful, I just wanted to see what Sasuke tasted like (I was already submerged in hell, so why not paddle around a little and check out the scenery?). It was a minty taste, like he had just chewed gum, mixed with cinnamon and something else completely unreadable. Completely Sasuke. It was intoxicating.

It felt like forever when I pulled away from his lips. I panted like an idiot who just ran a marathon, staring at the bruising I had caused on his lips. Was that really me? I felt both horrified and proud of the fact that Sasuke seemed to struggle to keep his cool composure. After all, it's not every day Uzumaki Naruto kisses you, especially if you're a guy! I would have laughed at how strange Sasuke looked when he blushed if not for the fact I couldn't keep my own hue down.

"Naruto."

"No!" I jerked back from him quickly, fisting my hands against my sides as I glared out at the area again. I didn't feel right. And I sure as hell didn't want to talk about it with him. So instead I took a slow breath, looking up at Sasuke and smiling fallaciously. I recognized the second he saw it that he knew I was lying, but he stayed quiet while I spoke. "Damn, I'm acting like a complete ass huh? Someone must have spiked my drink or something. We better get me home before I start to have sex with a lamppost!"

"Fine. You stay here, I'll get the car and then we'll go back in together to get Sakura." It seemed like Sasuke couldn't get away from me fast enough. I waved and smiled to him until he had disappeared back into the club to find the entrance. Once he was gone, I groaned and smacked my forehead.

"Kissing him? _That _was your solution?" I shouted, continuing to hit my forehead. There was no way that kissing could be considered a thing guys did with their guy friends. And grabbing his thigh? Was I nuts? I was lucky Sasuke hadn't ripped my whole arm off for touching him like that! I looked down at my hand which seemed so innocent now. But minutes before, it had been clutching onto his leg while I practically forced myself on Sasuke. Well, apparently blondes think alike.

"Naruto!" I glanced up to see a worried gaze behind strands of pink hair. I smiled and waved to her, but I slowly forgot about my casual hello when she came running to me in fear. She grabbed my face in her hands, seeming to almost inspect me of damage while I did the same to her. After all, it wasn't every day that Sakura practically threw herself at me.

"Whoa what's wrong with you? Did some creep touch you or something? Just show me him and I'll knock him out!" She shook her head as she pointed back at the door, glancing to it in panic.

"People are looking for you! Big guys, a lot of them!"

"What are you talking about? I don't even know anyone here!"

"I saw that girl that Sasuke was dancing with talking to them. We need to find Sasuke and leave." But her hopes of escaping unnoticed were lost in the cool breeze that shot at us from the swinging of the door. I looked slowly to see a group of guys fitting the description of Sakura's earlier testimony. I counted six, while the stupid little blond girl stood next to the guy in the middle.

"He's the one who called me trashy brother!"

"Who said that?" I glanced around me when they glared my way, wondering if someone was next to me. Huh. Nobody there. I looked back at them and blinked, speaking slowly. "Uh…there's no other guy here but me."

"Exactly. I heard you were picking on my little sister. We don't like that kind of talk around here, and someone's gotta pay for it." I stared in shock before slowly taking a step forwards, pushing Sakura behind me. I was quite aware of the leers they were sending her, and I wasn't going to let their sick minds get any closer to her. She instantly grabbed my shoulders, peeking out from the side to glare at the guys. Even if she was weaker than me and Sasuke, Sakura would never go down without a fight.

"So that's how it is, huh? Six against one? Seems a little unfair for you guys." I smirked as I cracked my knuckles, watching the look of shock and amusement pass their faces. I think one even laughed. Idiots.

"We're going to have fun knocking your sorry ass out." Their 'leader' or whatever he was pointed to me as if placing a target onto my forehead. Two guys ran forwards, and I pushed Sakura back before I swung around to face them. I easily avoided their punches before grabbing one of their extended wrists, jerking him forwards to knee him in the stomach and throw him over my shoulder. I barely had time to duck away from the punch next to my face, using my lower range as an advantage and kicking the feet from under him. I didn't wait for him to fall before swinging my other foot around, smashing hard across his face and sending him sliding across the concrete of the vacant parking lot.

I barely had time to stand before another guy literally jumped on my back. Knowing his arms would wrap around my neck for balance, I threw my hand up to fit between, wrapping my fingers around his arm and throwing it back over my head. I used the moment of imbalance of his part to yank his leg down hard, causing him to slam back into the tar. I glanced to him for a second, and I cursed myself for it later when a force knocked me hard onto the ground. I shielded my face with my arms, which scraped against the pavement and left tears in my bare skin. I felt my hair get grabbed, and my face was hit hard into the ground. I quickly threw my elbow up into my attacker's stomach, leaving him momentarily incapacitated. I slugged his body off and moved to stand before I heard a familiar cry of pain.

"Naruto!" I glanced behind me quickly, my eyes widening when I saw the tears slide down Sakura's face. One of the jerks had her by the hair, yanking on it hard to keep her from trying to get away.

"Leave Sakura out of this! She didn't do anything!" I shouted, glaring back at the boss man. He simply shrugged and sauntered toward me, glancing to Sakura once before speaking.

"We'll make a trade. Her safety for your obedience."

"You'd go as low as to hit a girl? What kind of a guy are you?" I fisted my hands on the ground, fighting the urge to sock the guy standing a few feet in front of me.

"We're not talking about me. You gonna play nice, or ya gonna let that pretty little girl get hurt?" Was that even a choice? Sure, my pride was 100 percent against the idea of just handing myself over to these losers, but what could I do? If I attacked, they'd hurt Sakura. And I made a promise the day we became friends that I'd never let another person hurt her again like the way those assholes did freshman year. And Uzumaki Naruto never went back on his word.

So I had to bite my lip till it bled when two of his cronies grabbed my arms and hauled me to my feet. Apparently their boss man preferred a still punching bag. I didn't flinch at the first hit into my stomach, mentally scolding myself for even letting my eye wince. Sasuke hit harder than these idiots in his sleep. If I could stand a fight with him, I could take these clowns any day. It was obvious they knew it too, otherwise they wouldn't have gone after Sakura the second I was distracted. I could faintly hear Sakura's concerned cries from behind me, and I was glad I wasn't facing her while they started to repeatedly strike me in the face and stomach. I could feel the blood drip down my chin and arms, and how I grunted every few punches. I didn't close my eyes, switching my gaze between the groups' boss man and his smirking little sister. She wasn't even pretending to be upset anymore. She was just pissed than I dared to take away her means of entertainment for the night.

My legs were hardly holding me up now, and the sickening taste of blood was making me want to hurl.

"Aw, is that all you've got?" I heard someone ask me a taunting question, and I didn't hesitate to grin up at their captain and force myself to stand straight again. I didn't tear my eyes or grin away from the frustrated team leader, even when a bright light slowly appeared behind us, casting our shadows on the wall of the club. I was not going to let them get the satisfaction of bringing me to my knees. And for one morbid moment, I thought about how pathetic it would be to die in the back of a parking lot to a bunch of idiots who didn't even compare to Sasuke.

"Let go of the dobe and Sakura." Well speak of the devil. I lifted my head to look behind me, smirking at the death glare Sasuke gave to the group. And they thought I was bad? With the lazy way I was fighting them, I was like a kitten compared to the black-haired guy behind me.

"Who the hell are you?" The idiotic boss man asked, and I finally used the moment to slug the guys holding me back, making them instantly release my arms and fall back to the ground. I stumbled a bit, not realized how heavy my upper body could be without the support of those two lackies. So when two steadying arms wrapped around my waist, I didn't bother struggling. Sasuke had dealt with the jerk hurting Sakura first. She was shorter than me, and I was probably ruining her dress with the dirt and blood on my body, but at the moment I didn't care. I closed my eyes and listened to the rewarding sounds of Sasuke beating the shit out of those idiots. I really wanted to watch, since the teme was one of the best fighters I knew (except for yours truly), but my heavy eyelids were not in the mood. It was sheer will that kept me conscious through the fight that barely lasted two minutes before Sasuke had them begging for forgiveness. The asshole could truly be cynical when he was angry. And I don't blame him, since he made the same promise to keep Sakura safe as I did.

The next part of this is a blue. Give me some credit here; I was pretty roughed up from the unfair circumstances. I lost and regained consciousness throughout the entire rest of the night. I knew someone had lifted me into the backseat, and then a body slid to rest my head on a comfy lap. Gentle fingers didn't touch me until the car was in motion, which was making me sick from the way I was laying. When I felt a hesitant brush against cheek, I leaned into the touch despite how much pain it caused my body. Sakura must have been afraid to touch my wounds or something, because she was never this cautious. Her fingers trailed slowly from my cheeks to my forehead, probably checking for more injuries. They finally ended up sliding through my hair and then back down to my jaw. I felt warm from all the touching, and I mentally made a note to thank Sakura for her kindness. I knew how gross I must have been, but she hadn't pulled away or complained. She had stayed quiet and helped to keep some of the pain away.

I fell back into the blackness after the gentle touch to my neck, and I didn't wake up again until we were back in the hotel room. How the two of them managed to get me into the room without any suspicion was beyond me. I had been unconscious, so Sasuke must have carried me up. Damn, that was the last person I wanted to see me as weak. It was bad enough he was freaked out by my moments of insanity, never mind how I must have looked getting the crap beaten out of me by a bunch of losers. Hopefully Sakura would explain it to him while I was out.

I woke up sometime around seven thirty the next morning. The sunlight snuck its way through the blinds and hit me square in the face. I groaned and moved to cover my face, but my arms were way too heavy at the moment to lift. My body was completely sore, but no longer dirty or sweaty. I could feel a pair of boxers against my skin, and I assumed that Sakura must have kept me in those while she bathed me and dressed my wounds. From the feeling of bandages along my abdomen, cheeks, and arms, I had a feeling that we'd be staying in Alabama a little longer than we had planned. Luckily one of us was rich, and could pay to keep us from getting kicked out.

"You awake, dobe?" I opened my eyes slowly to look around the room, spotting the teme sitting against one of the walls. Sakura was asleep next to him, her head resting against his shoulder. I winced at the realization that her face was still covered in tear lines from the night before. I turned to look back at the window. The sunlight was easier on my eyes than seeing Sakura hurt. "She's fine, idiot."

"I should have kept her closer to me. I never really thought that they would have gone after her, especially since they were so fixated on me," I mumbled weakly, clenching my hands on the bed.

"Cowards go for weaknesses. That's why you didn't think about using their sister the way they used Sakura." Well, he was right about that. Even when the girl was laughing and praising her brother for attacking me, I never thought to actually use her. It just wasn't my style. I'd rather fight and lose than cheat and win. But apparently, those jerks had no idea what a true fight was like.

"I would have beaten them. They were so weak! I should have…"

"What? Ignored them and attacked anyways? If you did, you would have been an even bigger idiot than I thought."

"No. I wasn't going to take the chance of Sakura getting hurt again." I finally allowed myself to look back at her, watching quietly while Sasuke laid her out to rest on the floor. He took the time to grab the pillow I tossed at him to tuck under her head. Probably because he knew I'd be pissed if he didn't. Sasuke really did care about both of us thought, whether he wanted to admit it or not. It was obvious from the vicious beat down he had given those creeps. Sasuke never bothered to fight people 'beneath' him unless he had good reason to. "When'd she fall asleep?"

"Couple hours ago." He now sat on the side of the bed, both of us staring at her in silence. It was weird, being this quiet with Sasuke. Most of the time we wouldn't care about one of us being injured because it was the other one who had done it. Now that I thought about it, I never let Sasuke fight with anyone else except for me and his Sensei Kakashi because Kakashi was able to take Sasuke on no matter how hard he tried. And he read a book while doing it to boot! Not that I faired any better against him, since he owned me any time I came around the dojo. The only time Kakashi had been almost beaten was when me and Sasuke had fought him at the same time. But once he put the porno book away, we were easily taken down.

But what was there to talk about? I couldn't talk about the events before the fight, because that would be…strange. And there was no way I wanted to keep talking about how badly I got screwed over in the fight. I looked up at Sasuke quietly, the older boy seeming even more upset than I was. Sometimes I wanted to be able to read minds just to see what went through the teme's head. He was so straightforward, and yet closed off at the same time. Like now, where it was so easy to see that he was not content at all. But I had a feeling he wouldn't tell me even if asked.

"What's with the dumb face?" Didn't stop me from trying.

"The only dumb face I see here is yours."

"Yea you say that again when I can move and I'll show you who the real idiot is." He glanced to my bandages that were visible from above the blanket. I thanked the gods for the bandages that covered my cheeks, which heated underneath his intense gaze.

"You better be mobile by tomorrow." I rolled my eyes at his uncaring statement.

"Yea yea, don't get your panties in a bunch. I'll be up and running by lunch time, you watch. You can't keep an Uzumaki down for long." And to prove my point, I finally lifted my arm and gave him and thumbs up. "Believe it!"

"That is the dumbest saying ever." I wanted to yell at him about the fact that my saying consisted of actual words, but the sentence got lodged in my throat when Sasuke moved completely onto the bed, sitting next to me. Our shoulders pressed together from the lack of room. Or at least, I told myself that despite the queen size bed. We didn't look at each other, Sasuke staring out the window while I watched Sakura sleep. I could feel his quiet breathing through our small connection, and the vibration he caused when he spoke. "You shouldn't have taken them on alone."

"What, did you expect me to wait for you to just magically appear? No way in hell!"

"You don't have the play the hero every time, idiot."

"What do you know?" I crossed my arms over my chest, glancing back at him. "You're just mad I didn't let you get the glory this time."

"If you had just waited or walked away, maybe your face wouldn't be a mangled mess."

"So what? You're saying if you were there, none of this would have happened?"

"Hn."

"You conceited bastard!" I shouted, glaring up at him. But, to my astonishment, he was still staring out the window. There was no glare or smirk, nothing to show he was scolding me for being a 'dobe'. He seemed mesmerized by the sunlight rising into the sky, and the faint bells chiming near our hotel from the church. It was eight.

"If I was there…none of this would have happened." I slowly let my glare turn from anger to a look of surprise. Was Sasuke…mad at himself? Like he could have stopped it if he hadn't of left me? The jerks still would have come after me either way. I wanted to laugh at how stupid I sounded, thinking that Sasuke would ever feel guilty over me, but I didn't. More like I couldn't. For some reason, it wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. Instead, it was kind of…upsetting.

"You wouldn't have made a difference." I muttered, rubbing the bandage on my arm. I squirmed a bit against him before shaking my head. "You would have been a pain in the ass. You would've just become another damsel in distress that I'd have to save."

"Shut up." That's better. There's the glare I lived for. Wait, no, not _lived _for. Because if I said that, it make it seem like I liked him or something. And I didn't…right…not at all! Stop blushing Naruto! I closed my eyes tightly and smacked my cheeks, yelping at the pain that it caused. Hands grabbed mine, and I opened my eyes quickly, staring up at the glaring pair of obsidian. "Idiot. Only you would beat yourself up."

"B-Be quiet!" I snapped out, ignoring the increase of my heartbeat. He was bent over me, and I unconsciously let my gaze dip down to his lips. We didn't move, and I knew my hands shivered in his. I should have hit him and yelled at him for the lack of personal space. But hey, I was the one who invaded it last night. Maybe this was payback? I felt a part of myself praying it wasn't. He leaned closer, then stop as if considering the same racing thoughts that ran around in my head. But he pushed past them and continued his slow decent while I started to close my eyes in anticipation.

"Naruto? Sasuke?" Aw crap, Sakura was awake. Eyes that I had planned to close shot open in pure panic. But the teme was faster than Sakura's sleepy eyes, and was standing before she lifted her head to look at us. His hands were shoved in his pockets while he glared down at me. Still, I could see the slight discoloration in his cheeks.

"Don't do something stupid again, dobe." And with that, he walked out of the bedroom. I sighed slowly and fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. After a few seconds I grabbed my pillow, shouting every swear I knew into it. This was not fair.

"Naruto, was Sasuke blushing? Did you tell him a dirty joke again?" Forcing myself not to throw my pillow at her head, I sat up slowly and shook my head. She was only concerned after all, even if it did just ruin a moment I was unsure if I wanted or not.

"Does Sasuke _ever _blush?" I asked, rolling my eyes. And it was true. Up until this trip, I had never seen Sasuke blush the way he did now. The answer seemed to satisfy Sakura, who crawled into my bed and checked the bandages I wore.

"I was so worried about you Naruto. I'm sorry that I was a burden to you." I quickly shook my head at the sad look that soaked her features, pulling her into a quick hug and resting my head against her shoulder.

"You're never a burden Sakura. Don't worry; they got what was coming to them in the end. Just think, Sasuke is a more sadistic bastard than me, so it was better he dealt with them." I heard her soft giggle and relaxed. It hurt more to see my friends upset than any physical punch.

"When Sasuke had finished with those guys, you were practically unconscious! I couldn't even hold you up. So Sasuke had to take care of you—" Damn, so he did carry me to the car. I was somehow hoping Sakura had just gained major muscle without me knowing. "—while I got the car started. I was so nervous driving home; I almost ran two red lights!"

"You dum—wait..what?"

"Red lights? You know, street lights?" Oh great, now Sakura thought I was brain dead too. Seriously, Sasuke had too much influence on people!

"No, I meant…_you_ drove home?" I pulled back a bit to look at her while she nodded slowly.

"Yea, Sasuke was in the back with you while I drove. I offered to switch, but Sasuke said it would make it easier to get you out that way." I quickly pulled her back to me, burying my face into her shoulder while I thought about the gentle touches along my skin the way home. If Sakura was driving…then…

I didn't let go of Sakura for several minutes, keeping the deep blush hidden in her shoulder.

**That's the end of chapter two! I really hope that you liked it. My pride is in keeping the characters in character, and I think I did really well. Because we all know our yellow fuzzball would never run from a fight. =P. I actually know where I'm going with this story now, and it's going to be a pretty interesting road ahead of us!! Haha, but you know me and my need to have two things going on at once. So I'm going to do another story while I'm letting you all read this one! So look for that one, it should be coming soon! =) Let me know what you thought of this. Oh, and if you're from Alabama, I wasn't trying to be mean to you or anything. I bet 99% of the people there are sweeties! Sorry if you got offended! –gives cookies in peace offering- Review please so I know if you want me to keep going! **


	3. Song Skip

Hello again! I am just a writing machine lately. Well that's because I have an essay due in one of my classes, and two tests in the other, so I'm going to have to stop writing for a couple of days. Sorry! And work has now decided to give me several hours of work, so I'm a little busy with that. It sucks growing up haha! Thanks to **Searafina **for the nice first review! You're really way to nice to me! Also, thanks to **Radar **(Marriage? You wouldn't wanna marry a crazy girl like me!)**,Vernon Sullivan **(Yea your guess is right, I'm gonna try my damnest to get someone for her), **Akiru-Chan **(I LOVE long reviews, don't even worry about it!), **Zerofangirl** (I really have one? –blushes- that's so sweet!), **lydia-chan **(More Sasuke-saurus for you), **sakurananchan **(damn I was hoping to be sneaky about Sasuke haha), **a rather slytherin griffindor **(you better amuse yourself with my story! –grins-), and last but **not **least, **Masochistandsadist **(Glad you liked the scientific name =P). **NOW GO READ AND ENJOY!!! **

**Warning: ****Sexy scene, full speed ahead! Boyxboy hot scene! Be warned**

**Diclaimer: ****Dearly beloveds, we are gathered here today—stops- wait…this isn't the right thing? Oh…! Stop that priest, he has my disclaimer about not owning Naruto!! –Runs after priest-**

**Song Skip**

"All that it takes

One more chance

Don't let out last kiss be last

I'm outta my mind just to show you--"

"What is with you and this song?" I lowered the music a bit to look at the pink haired girl who stared at me as if I was crazy. I blushed a bit, trying to roll my eyes like Sasuke always did. How could I tell her that in all honesty, I had the same feelings that some little fifteen girl had over my best guy friend? The one who had been acting like nothing had happened between us four days ago in Alabama? Yea, I don't think that would be one of my smarter ideas.

"It's just catchy and I like the beat. Besides, teme doesn't let me listen to it in the car anymore, so I can only rock out to it in the hotels when he's sulking in another room," I said, grinning. She seemed to accept the idea before she looked back down at the several maps that lay out in front of us. Since Sasuke refused to stop anywhere for more than five minutes during the day trip, we had driven through most of Texas without a problem. The state was extremely hot, but it would have been a great place to stop and paint. As a joke, I had Sakura tape me on the side of the road, pretending to die of heat stroke.

"This is the end…I've lost sight of the Sasuke-saurus…and my feeble human body will not sustain the same endurance as his species…his deadly glares and…evilness have killed me…gah!" I rolled onto my back then, dramatically twitching a few times. And it would have been the best death scene ever, until my face got completely soaked with ice cold water. Screaming as I sat up, I glared through a mop of hair while Sasuke smirked, shaking the empty water bottle from the convenience store. I stared at him for a moment before grinning, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the ground. Sakura taped us wrestling, and the second water bottle opened sometime during the scuffle. Easily I pinned the teme underneath me, looking up at the camera and smirking. "Have a look at the pale skin of the Sasuke-saurus. It's used to colder climates, and its skin will get irritated very easily. Now we'll save the little bugger by wetting its body to keep it from getting too skin damaged. But we must be quick, or the Sasuke-saurus will whip us off and snap! Off goes a finger with a blink of an eye!"

I then proceeded to empty water over his head, which I thought was completely fair since he had done it to me. Then again, he hadn't poured it into my pants…but that was beside the point! Sasuke had stopped speaking the rest of the trip to the hotel in Van Horn. Then he moved into the bedroom, and practically passed out the minute he fell onto it. That was because the idiot wouldn't let me and Sakura drive. Now he was up and moving around somewhere, but he had yet to come out into the living room.

The town was quiet and not as crazy as Montgomery, which was a plus for me. Like I really needed to get into another pointless fight, especially since Sakura felt so bad afterwards that she babied me the entire day it took me to recover. I tried to get her to stop, saying it wasn't her fault, but she wouldn't let it go. And the last thing I wanted to do was see her cry again, so I caved to her tears and let her do what she wanted.

But now that I was healthy, I almost wished I had taken advantage of it more.

"Naruto! Don't kneel on that, we're going to need that map for Nevada!" She said, yanking the map from underneath my knee and sending my flying to the ground. I fell into another pile of maps, and whined as I rolled around in them.

"Why do we have so many maps?!" She sighed as if talking to a three year old before she organized the maps by routes. She had already marked the next two days out on our trip, and I doubted that she really needed twenty maps to get there.

"Because all the ones that you're laying on are from the trip we've already done. If we do decide to drive back, then we're going to have to backtrack using those routes we already picked. But I think we'll stay away from Alabama this time."

"Whoa! All of these are where we've already been?" I looked down at the pile, which was much bigger than the five she was working on. The slight realization that the trip was practically over hit me harder than I expected. I fell back on the butt and stared at the pile, wondering how it was that all that time had passed us without me realizing it. It really felt like yesterday that me and the teme were fighting at the Mass line. And now we were only a couple states away from where we needed to be?

"Yea, give or take four days and we'll be in California. I'm guessing we'll hang out with Sasuke for a bit in his apartment to help him unpack or whatever, and then we'll be on our way again." Four days?! That was all the time we had left? I shook my head quickly and laughed, looking over to her.

"There's no way we'll make it there in four days!"

"Well let's see." She pulled out a map of the United States, pointing to the small part of Texas that we were in. "We're staying here for tonight, and then we're cutting across Arizona so that we can go see the four points. After we do that we'll look for a place in Utah to rest. From there we'll go see Las Vegas at night, since it's supposed to be amazing. And after that, we can just drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. It'll take somewhere between three and four days."

"Oh…" I winced a bit at the truth of what she said. It was really only going to be a few more days until the trip was over. I mean I really had forgotten that the road trip had a time limit, and that eventually Sasuke would be…

Gone.

"Uh…Sakura, I'm hungry! When's that pizza going to get here?" I asked, looking up at her. She blinked before she suddenly gasped, scrambling to grab her shoes. I blinked, tilting my head slowly in confusion. Now where was she going?

"I didn't get delivery because it was too much money!" She said, grabbing the keys to the car and looking back at me.

"Crap, I was going to take a shower before we ate," I mumbled, sighing weakly. She glanced to the clock on the wall before back at me, smiling.

"Well I've got to go grab some drinks for dinner anyways. I'll be back in twenty, and I'm taking a shower after we eat, so you better hurry up. Bye!" And with that, the bubbly girl had left me in a pile of maps. I sighed and stared at the ceiling for a second, letting everything sink in. Was I really ready to let go of this trip? Especially since there was big unanswered question about the random kiss me and the idiot shared.

"Gah don't think about it." I smacked my forehead to get my thoughts clear before I pushed up to my feet. I needed to get that shower done before Sakura came back, otherwise my pizza would get cold! And nothing was worse than soggy cold pizza in my book. Well, mushy cold ramen was just a crime against humanity. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts about the horrors of soggy noodles that I forgot about the third part of our group. Well, that was until I heard the shower already running in the bathroom. I groaned at the realization that Sasuke was already in the bathroom, and that I'd have to wait until he was done. Knocking on the door, I placed my forehead against it.

"Teme! Hurry up in there, I've gotta take a shower too!" I waited for a bit, hearing no response. Growling at the ignoring guy in the shower, I hit the door again, raising my voice. "Hey! Listen to me."

And there was still no response. That was it. Without thinking about the consequences, I shoved the door open and moved into the bathroom, turning to yell at the shower curtain. I stopped, however, when something completely unexpected met my gaze. Sasuke was standing in front of me with nothing but a pathetically small towel wrapped around his slender hips. His body was pale and toned in a way I had literally felt up before. I wanted to take my eyes off of the sight, but my eyes wouldn't listen to reasoning at they traced the dips of his muscles. When did he get so…so….

"What are you staring at, dobe?" So assholish? Honestly, his big mouth ruined everything I liked! I kept my blush under control as I glared at him, crossing my arms over my chest, my clothes and towels resting in-between them.

"Nothing worth my time, that's for sure."

"You should probably say that before you start to drool." I swiped my mouth with one of my hands, and he smirked once I realized he was lying. I quickly threw my towel at his face, which he avoided easily.

"I wasn't even drooling you jerk!" He shrugged and moved to the shower, dipping his fingers into the water to test its temperature. I watched as the small droplets slowly slide down the base of his fingers before languidly leaping over the edge of his fingertips. The digits flexed a bit and I involuntarily shivered. Thankfully he was looking at the water when he spoke again.

"Why are you barging into my shower?"

"Because I was calling to you outside and you were ignoring me."

"I was doing that on purpose."

"That's why I barged in! You better hurry your ass up because I need to take one too and Sakura already claimed shower after dinner." Sasuke seemed to pause at the statement before glancing over his shoulder, already seeming to be bored with my explanation. I growled and clenched my hands against my thighs. The stupid teme!

"I'm not rushing for you."

"What?! Why not!"

"Because I don't plan to waste the one good shower I get until the next time we find a hotel." Well that was true. It wasn't every night that we spent in a hotel. Sometimes we'd sleep in the car, since it wasn't cold enough for us to freeze or anything. We had made sure to bring extra blankets in case of an emergency, so it all worked out well. In fact, this was the first real shower we'd had since we left Alabama. Well, other than the one I gave Sasuke on the side of the road.

"Then let me go first and I'll be quick."

"And you'll use up all the hot water."

"If you're going to be such a pain in the ass I'm just going to take a shower with you!!" Fuck, _what _had I just suggested? Because I was pretty sure that asking to share a shower was not something friends do. Then again, we had passed that line a long time ago. Maybe I was just seeing how far I could push it until one of us snapped and killed each other to avoid the embarrassment.

"Hn." Okay, was that a yes 'hn', or a no 'hn'? I couldn't tell since Sasuke had turned away from me. I stared for a bit before I quickly tried to cover up my blunder.

"I-I just meant…y-you know, just to get the showers done...and i-its not like Sakura's here or anything… "What the heck was I babbling about? I was supposed to tell him that it was a joke or I was just tired, not try to make the idea sound _more _appealing. I mean yea, a kiss is technically intimate. But a shower was something completely different! Even for a guy and a girl, never mind two guys alone in a hotel together. "Ne-Never mind…I should—"

"It's fine." I jumped a bit at the sharp tone in Sasuke's voice, and looked up quickly to see him staring at the shower curtain. We fell silent for a few seconds, me keeping my gaze on him while he continued to stare ahead of him.

"Uh…fine?"

"Just stop rambling, you sound like an idiot." I normally would have gone off about how he was the idiot of the group, but my ears were burning too much for me to do anything but look down at my feet. This was way too embarrassing. Why did I even suggest this? And why did Sasuke say yes?

Suddenly, I felt self-conscious. I squirmed a bit, slowly playing with the hem of my shirt. What the hell was wrong with me? I shook my head quickly, ignoring the random surges of embarrassment while I threw my shirt over my head. This was stupid; I had been in my boxers around Sasuke plenty of times when we stayed at each other's apartments. This shouldn't even be a problem for me. I tried to brush off the fact that my body was shivering at the sound of his towel hitting the floor. Small squeaking noises from the curtain rings made my fingers pause against my boxers. I hesitated again, and it was pissing me off. I was Uzumaki Naruto, not some pathetic teenage girl on her first date! I bet I was bigger than him anyways.

So shrugging off the boxers, I moved to follow Sasuke's lead. I was a man damnit, and I was going to take each moment in stride!

"Shut the curtain, dobe." I jumped a bit and slammed the curtain shut behind us. Us, as in me and Sasuke. Alone. In a shower. _Naked._

"Do-don't call me that!" I said, glaring up at him. He sighed, running his hand through his mane to get the now wet flop of hair out of his eyes. I strained my eyes to keep them on his face, speaking slowly. "Just…sh-shower or something."

"Hn." He grabbed the shampoo from the side, throwing some into his palm before tossing me the bottle. I caught it quickly, glaring at him a bit while I started to wash my hair, staring at a random spot on the wall. The water was the only noise in the shower, both of us quiet in our quests to clean and leave. And it would have worked perfectly fine if a trail of soap hadn't dripped into my eye. I winced at the stinging sensation.

"Damnit!" Closing my other one to keep from going completely blind (although shutting my eyes just did that anyways), I reached forward to fix the showerhead above me. Only, it wasn't a shower head I grabbed but a…human head?

"What are you doing?" His voice was muffled, and I could feel his lips brushing my palm in a way that made me shiver. Was this honestly happening? I slowly opened the clean eye, staring up as Sasuke sensually slid his fingers to my wrist, pulling my hand away. The slippery skin slid down my arm a bit, trying to keep a good hold. I wish I had remembered that fact later.

"I've got soap in my eye. Now move so I can get it out!" I pushed him against the curtain while I washed my eye out; ignoring the fact my arm was now pressed against his chest. I rubbed the injured area softly, finally sighing when the sting dripped from my eye and returned my vision. I blinked slowly, glancing back to Sasuke and grinning. "Got it."

"Leave it to you to be unable to shower without injuring yourself." The shower was small, and it was hard to ignore the closeness of our bodies. The fact that we were both naked, wet, and my body was deciding _now _was a perfect time to stir in arousal did not help the situation at all. I tried to ignore it to focus on the shared gaze.

"I do fine when you're not here!"

"You asked to come with me." …Gah. Bad Naruto! That's _not _what he meant. But it did sound pretty tempting coming from his mouth. I glanced to lips that I knew from experience tasted sweet. I wonder if water dulled his flavor. Feeling frustrated with myself, I jerked my arms to cross them. Remember when I said I should have remembered Sasuke was holding my arm? Yea, well when his body came crashing into mine, pressing me into the wall, I suddenly realized my mistake. A mistake that came out in an embarrassing moan when I felt something very endowed brush against my semi-aroused member. The pain in my head from jerking it into the wall was nothing compared to the heat inside my legs now that a certain teme was resting comfortably in-between them.

His arms were now braced against the wall, but made no move to pull away from my body. Hell, that was fine with me at the moment, since any shifting from him was going to only make my body want to shift back. I stared at his shoulder while willing my body to calm down, thinking of anything disturbing that would make me limp for a little while. It wasn't happening any time soon when Sasuke breathed into my ear.

"You idiot." Even his insults were hot right now. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, hoping that somehow he wouldn't notice my body's quivering limbs against him. I was so confused that I hurt. Three weeks ago, if you had told me that I was going to be naked and pressed against my best friend in a steamy shower, I would have laughed my ass off. But now, feeling how his lower abs stroked against the sensitive part of my stomach, the idea seemed pretty damn reasonable. But feeling his fingers rest under my chin to turn my gaze up to his face was still somehow embarrassing to me, and I tried to look away. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" Oh I don't know, I could name about ten things that we shouldn't be doing at the moment. But hey, if he only wanted to focus on one, he could be my guest. I'll just catalog the other ones for later.

"Don't look away, dobe." I hesitated at the smugness in his voice. I knew he was trying to get me riled, and I knew that I shouldn't let him. Still, just sensing he was smirking caused my eyes to turn back to his taunting gaze.

"Teme—" And the rest was swallowed by a kiss. My eyes stayed wide in shock while his lazily closed. Holy shit, Sasuke was kissing me! Now I wanted to have a whole moral debate about the pros and cons about this, why he would waste his time and what was going through his head. Really, it was on the top of my list. But when Uchiha Sasuke wants to kiss you, your mind is pretty blank two seconds into it. I moaned and grabbed his shoulders, no longer liking the idea of playing nice. Just because he kissed me did not mean I was going to submit. For all I knew this was a joke, and I was going to make it backfire on him so bad, he'd be see—

How did his tongue get in my mouth? I felt hands grasp my hips, pulling them closer to his own to create a furnace between us. If we were any closer, we'd be touching again. And feeling myself slipping down his thighs, I made the final commitment by hooking my legs around his waist. I quickly bit his lip to show that it meant nothing in the power struggle our mouths were divulged in. He smirked into my mouth while I growled to hide a moan at the erotic way his tongue soothed over the bite mark, sliding against my lower lip as well. Our bodies were slick with water while they hesitantly met, hips shyly becoming more acquainted. I think it was the only time that me and the idiot had been shy around each other. But I was both shocked and utterly aroused by the fact his body was starting to react the same way mine was.

With my back pinned against the wall, Sasuke had the upper hand in our position. I hissed and pulled my mouth from his as two questing fingers touched my nipple, painful pleasure making me arch when they pinched the tender skin. It wasn't fair how easily my body reacted to his damn touch. I hadn't been able to jack off in weeks, and the most boring touches were setting me on fire. And no, it wasn't because it was Sasuke damnit! I heard his chuckle under my ear and he sucked the skin there. I tried not to tilt my head back in pleasure even though my body bucked into his much easier than before. One of his hands was curled around my thigh, holding it so that his thumb could stroke along the inside while we explored each other's body. See, told you the thigh was purely sexual.

Grabbing his neck with one of my hands, I pulled him from his fascination the skin he was sucking in favor of a kiss. But, unlike the other times we had swapped spit, the fire was gone. We didn't part our mouths are first, and it was the first time that one of us silently asked for permission to deepen the touch, Sasuke slowly brushing a tongue against my lower lip. I relented and parted them, simply enjoying the sudden stroking inside of my mouth. It wasn't demanding or harsh, like our tongue battles. It was just a kiss. Our bodies softly rocked in a strange motion that made my mouth unable to keep away incoherent moans. And feeling his fingertips gently slide along the length of my neck was too much for me to handle. By the end of it, when I had finally pulled my mouth from his, my body was shaking worse than before. I was panting heavily against his shoulder to keep myself from passing out due to lack of oxygen. That one kiss was more intense than any orgasm I had ever felt, and left me gasping for some self control.

"You dead?" I let out a long breath against his skin to show I still had a pulse. Cocky bastard thought he'd be that good?

"Didn't get rid of me yet." I mustered up the strength to talk, which should have been much easier than I made it sound. It was just a make-out, not like we fucked for hours on end. In fact, the whole thing must have only taken ten minutes tops. I would have felt embarrassed by my lack of control, but the teme was breathing heavy too. So we were even when it came to each other. I winced after I opened my eyes, realizing just what had happened between us. And hell, I couldn't even push away since he was literally supporting all of my weight in his hands. This was so humiliating. I would have rather been killed back in Alabama if I knew this was how it'd end up.

"Stop thinking, your head's going to explode." How did he even know what I was doing? I looked up at him and formed a slow glower, not happy with the way he was instantly able to switch back to asshole.

"I'm smarter than you think."

"That's not hard. In fact, I'm pretty sure a rock could surpass my guess at your intelligence." I growled and started to squirm in his touch while hitting him hard in the chest.

"Put me down you asshole! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Finally I was set back down on my feet, and I stumbled a bit before grabbing the wall. I heard him chuckle behind me in a way that truly pissed me off. Turning to face him, I stopped my attempt to yell when I saw he was leaving the shower. "W-Wait! Where are you going?"

"Do you think it'd be smart for Sakura to see us like this? She'd think something happened." Well maybe because something _did _happen…

"What about your shower?! Weren't you the one complaining about smelling or whatever? You can't just leave me!" He stared at me for a moment, and once the silence hit the awkwardness that we had been talking through reared its ugly head. So it finally struck the teme as hard as it had me. I wanted to look away from the intense, cold stare he gave me. I shifted on my feet a bit, finally turning my gaze to the curtain and brushing my nose against my finger as if there was a scratch. Actually it was just a nervous tick I had created when I was a kid that I was never able to get rid of.

"Yes, I can." And with that, he pulled the curtain back to cover his face and moved out of the room. I watched him shut the door behind him before I finally fell back against the wall, sliding to sit in the tub. I stared at my thighs, which were slightly red from the rubbing we had just done. We. As in, Sasuke and I. How did something that seemed so right when I did it feel almost wrong now? And the way he stared at me made me feel like he was already regretting it. I pressed my fingers to my lips, now thinking of how I kissed him. Why had I done that? I could say it was to muffle my noise, but Sakura wasn't there. Maybe it was because I didn't want to shout? No, I had been loud 90% of the make-out. I just felt …like I needed to. Like somehow, the kiss would cement this entire experience into reality for us.

I was thinking about this too much. The teme probably already discarded it into his 'things I don't care about' pile. So I finished my washing, hurrying to towel dry my hair when I heard Sakura's cheerful voice in the other room. I could smell the pizza and instantly felt my stomach growl. Hey, after something like that a guy's gotta eat! So I finished changing into my sleep pants, and decided a shirt wasn't necessary since it was way too hot. When I moved into the other room both of them were there, sitting at the table while Sakura chatted away about something. I hesitantly took a seat across from Sasuke, grabbing a slice of pizza and shoving it into my mouth. If my mouth was full, I wouldn't have to talk.

And luckily, Sakura had enough to talk about to practically last all of dinner. Sure she asked us why we were so quiet, and me and Sasuke faked fights we truly had no interest in. I could tell it was all for show by the way his eyes lacked the normal arrogance he had. And it's really hard to get into a fight with someone who isn't really responding.

"Naruto, clean up while I take a shower, okay?" I looked up at her while she left the room, the teme still quietly eating. The silence didn't even bother creeping; it just slammed straight into me. So I ignored him as well, moving to toss the plastic plates and utensils into the trash. We never used the plates in the hotels because we didn't know who else had touched them. So I moved back to the table, unconsciously glancing to Sasuke as I did. I froze in my quest to pick up the pizza box when I made contact with an unwavering gaze. I swallowed for a second before slowly grinning

"What's the matter Sasuke, awed by how much better I am?" He narrowed his eyes at my comment.

"Hn." I glanced back at the table at his response, which was all too typical for the pain in the ass. Why did I even expect something to change?

"Sakura says we've got about four days till we get to your apartment." I moved to the trash and dropped the now folded box into it, closing my eyes as I did. I wasn't sure why my mind was racing so fast, but it was causing me to blurt out random things. "So you'll get your wish and finally outrun me, huh? Not like you ever could in high school, I was way too fast for you!"

"You were pathetic and lazy. The only one you beat was Shikamaru, and that was because he didn't run." I quickly shook my head, turning to face him.

"No way! I beat Chouji and all the girls…well except Tenten, but she's way too fast to even count! Besides, you got beat by Lee every time." The irritated twitch in Sasuke's eyebrow made my grin widen. Ah, bushy brows. Even though I hadn't seen him since our high school years, it still put a thorn in Sasuke's side to know that Rock Lee was better at something. Then again, the kid was obsessed with our gym teacher Gai, and even stayed after school every day to train. I think he even went off to the Olympics. With Gai as his couch still, of course.

"He did not beat me."

"Did too! He holds the record for the school!"

"Shut up." I laughed at his scowl, which if looked at in a certain light, almost seemed like a pout. I jogged back to the table and plopped down in the seat next to Sasuke, leaning my elbows onto the table and grinning at him. I couldn't help but enjoy his expressions.

"You know…" I dragged out the word slowly, enjoying how arrogant I sounded. "I bet Lee is still faster than you."

"Hn."

"Don't you think?" He glanced to me and rolled his eyes.

"Stop being stupid dobe." He reached forward to hit me in the head, my hand grabbing his wrist quickly to stop the attack. The moment our skin touched we stopped, glancing to each other in a way that made my heart skip. I opened my mouth to speak, but I hesitated. What the heck was I going to say? 'Hey don't touch me like that because it makes me think of the shit we just did in the shower! You know the shower you probably don't ever want to bring up? That one!'. But as embarrassed as I felt, I didn't want to let him go.

"Don't touch me, _teme_, unless you want me to touch you back." My voice was so quiet; I didn't even think he heard me. Didn't matter really, because I was sure my eyes showed the threat clear enough. I had four days left with him, and I wasn't going to tiptoe around the fact that something had changed between us. I felt it with the blush in my cheeks, and the tingling through our touch. There just had to be something there.

And he didn't pull away. Instead, he used our connection to pull me out of my chair and over him, keeping his narrowed eyes on me. I instantly stumbled into him, catching myself from falling by swinging my leg over his body. Unfortunately, that ended in the awkward position of a certain blonde (that's me) resting in a certain asshole's lap (that's him). I tried not to show the hitch in my breath by glaring back at him.

"Don't make promises you won't wish to keep." My lips barely parted against his while he spoke, and our breathing switched mouths through the heated conversation. Our eyes didn't move or close, because in truth this was a competition. Wasn't it always with him?

"I don't."

"You open your mouth too much, dobe."

"That's not what you said in the shower," I snapped out, not really thinking of the embarrassment that would hit me afterwards. His eyes narrowed and suddenly the grip I had on his arm was switched so he was now holding onto me. A slight panic went through me and I tried to pull my arm back, thinking I had pressed the matter too far. "Let me go!"

"No."

"Are you crazy?! Sakura is here! You were the one who said not to act friggen weird!" I hissed out, struggling to pull away from him. It was no use, because I didn't have the strength to get away from him while I was straddling his lap. Why was he doing this? Wasn't he supposed to be straight or something? I closed my eyes tightly when I realized that I didn't bother trying to deny my sexuality anymore. It was embarrassing, sitting here in another man's lap and feeling excited about it. I was supposed to like girls, that was what I done for two decades of my life! Why did Sasuke have to go and change all of that?

"Stop squirming." His commanding tone only made me grit my teeth and squirm harder than I was before. This wasn't exactly beneficial to myself, since I was starting to get aroused again. But damnit, I wasn't going to just sit here and let this asshole control me! So when he grabbed my hips to forcibly stop me, I let my frustration bubble over into a kiss. I hand both of my hands on his cheeks, not letting him pull away even if he wanted to. If he was going to make a fool out of me, I was going to make sure that he was embarrassed too! So I parted his lips much easier than I would have thought and dove straight into the warmth of his mouth. I sensed his light shudder underneath me and I felt my pride well up inside of my chest. Feeling more empowered, I pressed my chest against his, determined to make him question his body as badly as I had for the past couple days.

I nearly moaned when he started to kiss me back with as much force as I had started the kiss with. I was no longer holding his face to mine, but rather clinging to it to keep myself sane. Our rubbing from the shower continued, Sasuke using his hands on my hips to help my constant squirming. It wasn't the best place to do this, especially since Sakura would be getting out of her shower any minute. But that whole 'logic' thing escaped me when his greedy mouth sucked my lower lip into action again. The rubbing soon became hard grinding, and my hands slid from his cheeks to the back of his chair for leverage. Our sleep pants were hardly a barrier as they jerked with our movements, and I could feel part of my hips exposed to the air.

Feeling a sudden need to have some control over the situation, I pulled back from his mouth and slipped my lips down his throat and over his pulse. Remembering the movements he had done in the shower, I covered the pulse with my lips and sucked, adding my tongue into the equation when his blunt nails dug into my hips. Sure they still hurt, but knowing that Sasuke was struggling to keep the Uchiha composure was more than enough to keep me going. I bit around the tender area before licking the marks languidly with my tongue, suddenly shutting my eyes at a particularly hard thrust of our bodies. It was the second time that night that I honestly thought I was going to come.

"Stop Naruto." But the damn teme had to try and ruin it! I tried to ignore him and return my lips to his neck, but his hand was in my hair, tugging my head back so hard I thought he was going to pull my hair out. Naturally my eyes watered from the sharp pain but I stared up at the ceiling so he wouldn't see it.

"What?" I asked, closing my eyes when his hot breath prickled the skin of my neck. Was he going to return the favor?

"You suck any harder and it's going to leave a mark, dumbass." I groaned in irritation while I tried to pry the hand out of my hair.

"So what?"

"Do you feel like explaining it to Sakura?" Oh, right. I forgot about that. I glanced down at him once he released my hair, my arms now resting comfortably on his shoulders. I should have been uncomfortable like this, practically sitting in a lover's hold with the idiot. His arm was around my waist and even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't. Guess there was no running away from it this time.

"So…"

"So what?"

"Don't you act all cool with me! You know damn well what!" I smacked him in the head, and was actually surprised I had been successful. He closed one of his eyes and glared with the other, pinching my waist and making me yelp. What a girl move.

"Well if someone would stop acting like a horny teenager, maybe we could discuss this." I blushed and scrunched my nose at the accusation. Give me a break here; it was the first time someone had ever shown sexual interest in me! Sure it was a guy, and even worse, Sasuke. But hell, it could have been worse. I might have liked a pig or something.

"Fine, talk then."

"About?" Oh he was so going to hell. I growled and would have strangled him if not for the fact that my body swore to become impotent for the rest of my life if I did. He seemed to enjoy my suffering because he smirked and shrugged slowly. "You're the one who started this."

"You kissed me in the shower!"

"You kissed me at the club." Damn.

"Y-you invited me into the shower."

"Because you offered." Double damn!

"Well…uh…you stroked my hair in the car! Ha!"

"You got jealous over a girl." Why does he always have to win at this? You'd think once, just once, I'd win. But no, he had to remember every little detail and then use it on me!

"So what? You expect me to be jealous of a guy?!" He rolled his eyes as if I had just asked the dumbest question ever. Which I knew was _so _not true because I had said much dumber things!

"I don't like men."

"You like me."

"You don't count." We both stopped and stared at each other in shock. I was banking on the fact that he hadn't meant to say that.

"You…like me?" He grunted and suddenly shoved me off his lap and onto the ground, leaving the room before I even had time to yell at him for being a total dick. Which he was! I hadn't even done anything wrong and he was acting like I just pissed in his shoe or something. I rubbed the sore spot on my back before pushing myself back to my feet, moving into the living room to try and find the teme. He was so getting his ass kicked.

"If you're looking for Sasuke, he's in the bedroom getting ready for bed." I glanced up to Sakura, who sat in a pair of dark green pjs while flipping through the hotel's TV. I shrugged and sat down next to her, glancing at the TV as well. I could have gone after Sasuke, but what was the point? He would have either glared at me the entire time, or just pretended I wasn't there. So I spent the night with Sakura, staying up late and watching the most interesting documentary about ants I had ever seen. Oh yea, did I mention that I had only seen one? But Sakura had passed out on my arm, the controller nestled into her thighs. Sure I could have grabbed it, but I preferred my dick attached my body. So I slowly closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the couch, trying to get some type of sleep. Sakura's warmth should have knocked me out right away, since I tended to get extra sleepy when someone was next to me. But for some reason, my eyes kept drifting open to glance at the door leading toward the bedroom, knowing that a certain black haired guy was sleeping peacefully while I squirmed and sighed.

If there was one thing I learned from this damn trip, it was this. Do not watch boring ass ant documentaries at two in the morning. I finally had forced myself to get some sleep, but it was less than three hours later that we were out on the road again, me practically passing out in the passenger sleep. Of course Sakura and Sasuke looked perfectly fine, because they had slept! I had been energetic at the beginning of the day, but by noon I was seeing little Sasuke-sauruses jumping along the side of the road. And I thought nothing would wake me up until Sasuke decided to make the worst mistake of the day.

"Hey, can we listen to my CD?" I blinked slowly before looking over to her.

"You brought one?"

"Uh huh! Since you're all pop and Sasuke's all uh…rock-" Sasuke hated it when you called it emo. So we had to think of stupid substitutes when everyone knew a song called 'I'm not okay' and 'Thank you for the venom', its friggen emo. "-I wanted to listen to a little of my own music."

"I thought you listened to everything?" But I grabbed the offered CD, popping out Sasuke's shit and pushing her mix in. She nodded, smiling.

"Well duh!" I blinked a bit when I heard an unfamiliar song pop up onto the CD. I sat back a bit at the obvious country entrance to the song, and my eyes instantly widened at the first verse.

_I don't wanna rush this thing  
I don't wanna jump the gun  
I really wanna say those three little words  
But I'm gonna bite my tongue_

Yeah, I'm just gonna lay on back  
Leave it on cruise control  
I'm gonna hold it all inside  
Till the right time comes down the road

I swallowed weakly at the uncomfortable lyrics, glancing anywhere but the driver next to me. Sakura was too caught up singing the catchy song to realize that I now turned my face toward the window, trying my best not to glance over to Sasuke. Although, the almost ironic song kept on getting worse.

_I got a feelin'  
My head's a reelin'  
My heart is screamin'  
I'm about to bust loose  
Bottled up emotion  
It's more than a notion  
It starts with an "I"  
And ends with a "U"  
I got a feelin'  
Are you feelin' it too_

And as fate would have it, my hand was now fisting in my shirt, right over my heart. Most people would automatically think the three little words or whatever the hell the singer said was 'I love you'. But hey, couldn't it be 'I _like _you' or 'I _want _you'? People thought too inside the box. And I felt trapped in a box from how hard it was getting to breath. Was it just me, or was Texas air way too humid? I tried to keep my eyes on the window, but I slowly glanced over to Sasuke. His hands were clenched on the wheel, glaring every now and then at the radio in-between us. Alright, so I wasn't the only one who noticed it.

_I guess I've all but said it now  
So much for hopin' you'd go first  
Don't leave me hangin' out here on a line  
Baby, it's your turn  
Say you couldn't sleep last night  
Swore that you could feel me breathe  
Had you wantin' me there by your side  
Yeah, baby I know wh—_

"Naruto! I was listening to that!" I ignored her as I shoved my finger on the mute button of the radio, glancing back at her. 

"T-That was the dumbest song I have ever heard! Not being able to sleep because of someone? H-ha! Like that happens. You better have not filled t-this CD with sappy girly love songs!" She blinked before she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know, that song was sung by a _guy_. It's not a girl song." Yea, that's why I shut it off! The fact that a guy was singing it only made it even worse. I didn't answer her as I skipped to the next song, which was (thankfully) not a pathetic love song. And most of the songs she had on her CD were my type of music, except for the occasional romance song I skipped immediately. Sakura was two seconds from ending my life when Sasuke suddenly stopped the car, both me and Sakura jerking forwards in our seats. I glanced forwards and smiled, Sakura's mood instantly pulling a 180 as she pointed between us. "We're here! The only place in the USA where four states meet."

"Awesome! I wanna get a picture for the parents to prove to them I _can _be in four places at once." We quickly moved out of the car, Sakura grabbing both her camcorder and camera. We messed around with the camcorder, trying to convince Sasuke to wave to the lens. He didn't. So after he bored us to death with his Uchiha glare, Sakura got someone passing by to take a couple pictures of us. And after the group pics, we made Sasuke take about….50 of me and Sakura. Hey, it's not a crime to be in love with yourself! Plus we're hott. Once we were satisfied with our pictures, we convinced Sasuke to take a few with Sakura, ruining every single one with his frown.

But that didn't stop Sakura from grabbing the camera and pushing me toward the teme.

"Alright you two! Let's get a picture of you two together too!" I wanted to protest the idea, but by the look in Sakura's eye I knew I wasn't going to win. Throwing my hands up in defeat, I punched Sasuke in the shoulder and leaned against him, smiling while he glared at me.

"Cheer up bastard! I don't… bite" The look he gave me clearly said 'yea you do', and it made me glance away in discomfort. Was this how it was always going to be now? I didn't want that. Determined not to let the night before ruin my last few days with Sasuke, I threw my arms around his neck while I jumped on his back, laughing when he stumbled a bit to keep balance. Once he slid his arms under my thighs and straightened up I leaned onto his back, throwing my hand out over his shoulder to give the peace sign. Sakura stared up at us in shock, her hands not moving to take the picture. Frowning, I tilted my head. "Sakura?"

"Oh! Sorry Naruto. Smile." I nodded and grinned again, Sakura taking the picture quietly. I waited until she nodded before I dropped my arm, letting it hang over Sasuke's shoulder and against his chest. "How did it look? This idiot better not have ruined it for me!"

"N-No! It…it looks really nice." The off tone of Sakura's voice made my eyebrows furrow, but I didn't have time to ask before Sasuke snorted, suddenly walking back toward the car. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was still carrying me, and I started to hit his back in protest. "Hey! Let me go!"

"Hn." I continued to bicker with the teme, not noticing the thoughtful look in the now quiet girl that followed us.

**And that's chapter three!! So the boys are starting to heat up, but they're almost at Cali. I wonder what will happen first, their confession or their goodbye? And will Sasuke and Naruto be able to get over their distance and be together? Hmm, you all wanna know that too huh? Well you'll have to wait for the fourth installment! Oh, and two things. One, I was not bashing emo music, Naruto was. I actually like MCR, along with all the other songs I use in this story! Secondly for those who are reading 'Psychic Problems', there WILL be a second chapter. I knew as soon as I posted that 'maybe' that it really was a 'yea I'm going to because I can't stand to leave it there'. But I was too lazy to go back and change it all. I'm going to work of the second part now. And if you haven't read it yet…well go read! Right after you review this off course! =D**


	4. Heart Rip

Hellooooooooo. I'm surprised I'm writing this right now, since I've got had like, no time to spare this entire week. And yet I still manage to get chapters out…-doesn't understand life-. Well this is the fourth installment of the story! And no, it's not the last. And my plot bunnies have been writing away, so now I'm ready to use what they've given me and put it to work! They're starting to grow on me a little…oh! Thank you time! **BloodRedAngel808**, thanks for the nice first review! I thought it was pretty cute. Now this long lists…-sighs- I can't even complain because I love it so much. –blushes-. **Searafina **(yea, you may hate me after this chapter…=D…-hides from you-),**norway22 **(You know Sasuke, he's gotta be the emo queen), **MasochistandSadist **(aw don't cry! Oh, and theres a point to the song, you'll see why…and yea, make sure you have tissues with you for this one), **Akiru chan **(Glad I could do a service to Texas for ya, and I made it nice and hot…temp wise, of course ;) haha), **Artic0Kitten **(Glad that you like it so far, and heres the chap you wanted!), **Cierra **(I don't think Im one of the best, but thank you for the compliment. And love? –blushes- you're too sweet), **a rather slytherin griffindor **(…-squirms- I can't promise you won't wanna kill me after this chapter…but you can't because I have a fan club! –hides behind fanclub), **Claimed by Insanity **(first off, love your name, secondly, Thank you for the venom is my fav song from MCR), **Sakurananachan **(I love how you make guesses and analyze the things I write, it makes me feel special! ), **Naruto-is-life **(-blushes deeply- thank you very very much, I don't think I'm as good as most but I try!), **Kazanrai **(Sorry bout the long wait…-looks to see its only been three days-…haha, that's long for me isn't it? So sad), **Tarff **(Uhm…-pokes self and blushes- I'm plushy, so I'm human…or a really big teddy bear…I'm no goddess, but thanks for the compliment!), **kat10788 **(Mexican wave? I wanna learn that! Haha and thank you for the compliment), **Exorcist-Miranda **(I wish someone would draw that pic too…-sighs-, and Sakura is a very smart cookie), **Radar **(very nice song, and yea it does work! Haha good work Radar, you sure can pick up on things well…wow I'm so bad at puns –cries and sticks to writing-), **zerofangirl **(yea, the bite part was my fav to write…=D, and I'm glad you liked the chap because this one you may kill me over…), **Moonmoore **(don't worry about reviewing! You take care of yourself first, I'd never hold that against you! I'm grateful you even gave me ONE!), **Lydia-chan **(I don't know if I'll be able to sneak in a Sasuke-saurus in this chap…=(it's going to be a sad one without him), **A-Twilight-Storm **(I'm glad I could convert you =) It makes me feel happy!), **Nana-Riiko **(Don't risk your life for me! Silly goose, it'll be there the next day! But thanks), **Skele **(Thank you very much for that sweet review, I'm glad I could take a usual story line and make it something worth reading!). Thank you SO much for all your reviws! Now I need to go faint, so let's get onto the story!

**Warning: ****Limey goodness with two smoking hot boys? You bet your sweet little bottoms there is! –Blushes and giggles- What can I say, I'm a sucker for sexy men!**

**Disclaimer: ****-walks in with a shield and armor- You'll see why I need this later…I don't own Naruto**

**Heart Rip**

You ever wonder why some things happen the way they do? Why something that seems like it should never be changed or altered suddenly gets ripped apart in the blink of an eye? A moment in time that you never want to end, and yet before you realize it, the moment's completely gone? You're haunted forever by that one damn moment, when everything should have frozen, and never moved again. You think and flip and turn every part of the moment around, thinking of what you could have done to keep it with you. To keep that moment going. But it's only a _moment_.

Heh. I'm getting pretty dark on you, huh? And there's no song today either. I guess that's because I broke the radio and now it won't play me a damn thing. Sakura's quiet next to me, though I know she's watching me. Waiting to see if something happens again. Can't trust someone when they're this upset I bet. It's probably a crime or something to feel this empty. But hey, what do you guys know? You're two days too early. Lets go back to that _fantastic_ moment, shall we?

Let's start with the song.

"I know everything changes

I don't care where it takes us

Cause I know

How I feel

About you!" Hey, I actually make it through a whole ten seconds before Sasuke glared at me in that 'shut the hell up' look! Yay me, it must be rubbing off of his emo ass. I grinned back at Sakura who rolled her eyes at my childish attempts to make cloud turn into a rainbow. Frankly, I see Sasuke committing suicide before he ever decided to be happy. "So Sakura, how far away are we from the casino?"

"Not too far, but we'll have to walk. Sasuke, park the car in this parking garage and we'll just go on foot for the rest." Sasuke nodded and followed her orders while I rubbed my hands together and grinned.

"Alright! Time for the Uzumaki luck to win me some money!"

"Don't you mean, _lose _your money?" I think he beats up puppies in his spare time. And made babies cry. He seemed to be good at the whole 'I'm an evil jerk' thing.

"I don't care what you say, teme! My family has been playing in casinos since they were first made! They've got the art of dice shaking down to an art I tell you." We moved out of the car once Sasuke parked. I turned to the backseat and helped Sakura get out, spinning her once in her very pretty outfit and heels before dipping her slightly. She laughed and hit my arm while I gave her a charming smile. "It's a beautiful thing having an Uzumaki around."

"For a laugh maybe." I almost dropped Sakura in my need to glare at the dobe. But quickly I pulled her to stand again before turning my burning gaze his way.

"We'll just see whose laughing! I'm going to kick your ass so hard, you're going to be seeing stars!"

"You know, there is a noise violation after a certain time at night. You may wanna turn that megaphone you call a mouth down." Oh he thought he was so cool with his fancy little comebacks. I swung at him, but he quickly blocked my attack and countered it by twisting my arm behind my back, pressing it between our bodies to keep it paralyzed. "Don't try that again, dobe, or else I'll have to embarrass you in front of all of these people."

"Teme…" I growled and tried to flex my arm away from him, but stopped when I heard Sakura giggling. We both looked over to her, watching the laughter tumble from her lips like water. I blinked once before tilting my head. "What's so funny Sakura?"

"You two are cute." My eyes widened while a blush crept on my cheeks. Trying to disperse it, I shook my head quickly.

"N-no way! We're not cute! He's an annoying bastard and I'm a charming stud! Nope, nothing cute about us." Damn I stuttered. It was the teme's fault anyways. He kept touching me all day, and sure most of the time it was because I did something stupid, but…but still! It was making my skin burn. Even though we had been able to uh…'explore' a bit more of the whole kissing thing while Sakura was gone grabbing some womanly stuff from the store (I certainly did not wanna touch that subject with a ten food poll), neither of us went too much farther than that. And then when she did come back, my body was on fire. I couldn't even do a damn thing about it since we had all stayed up late to watch a horror movie marathon. It was the most frustrated and relaxed I had ever been in my entire life. It was driving me up a wall! Not to mention Sasuke acted like he was perfectly fine. My body was practically arching into any touch he was giving me, because he just happened to have the most seductive fingers any bastard has ever had.

Feeling frustrated all over again, I wiggled my arm out from him and pushed him away.

"That's it! We're gonna fight!"

"Don't waste your breath." I was going to go after him again, but something dark caught the corner of my eye. I glanced back to Sakura, who was too engrossed in watching us to notice the man behind her. "Sakura!"

"Huh?" She looked back and screamed at the man behind her. "Get away you creep!"

"Give me your purse lady or I'll shoot you!" But despite the guy's threat, Sakura continued to scream in a pitch that even had me wincing. He jerked back for a second at her scream before lunging again. I moved forward to take care of the guy when a sudden blur of green knocked the jerk into the wall next to us. I blinked on in shock at the kindness of strangers in Nevada, but stopped when I noticed two very familiar fuzzy brows furrowed at the guy.

"Do not try to touch Sakura so familiarly! Or you will have to deal with me!" Ah, flashy as always. I looked at the guy I hadn't seen in several years. Wearing a classic green button up and jeans, Rock Lee had grown up a lot! Well, maybe we all did, but Sasuke and Sakura never left long enough for me to notice any changes. Lee was taller than before, and he had _somehow _grown into those crazy eyebrows. I think it took Sakura longer than me to figure out who it was, because he cheeks instantly turned pink at the discovery of her savior.

"L-Lee?! What…" Sakura didn't get far before Lee was in front of her, eyes still as adoring as ever when seeing his pink haired crush. Lee had been head over heels in love with Sakura for as long as they had known each other. To him, it was love at first sight. To her, a nuisance that she didn't want to admit she enjoyed. And when he had left Konoha the summer after our graduation, I was pretty sure Sakura missed him more than she realized. Because even if he was a little dramatic, the kid was the most loyal person I had ever met. As soon as he declared his love for Sakura, his eyes never strayed. And even when she hit him or completely denied him, Lee never gave up.

And it seemed, even after all of these years, Lee still hadn't changed.

"Sakura, you are more beautiful than the last time I saw you!" He grabbed her hand in his, looking to the man that scampered away before turning his full attention back to the shocked girl in front of him. "I hope you're okay. The men in this town are truly much more animalistic than any other cities I've been to."

"W-What are you doing here?" Yea, I was a little curious about that too! Lee was certainly not the type to spend his life in a city like Las Vegas. To be honest, I never thought he'd leave Konoha, since it was such a good place to raise a family.

"I'm here with my track team on vacation. Guy-sensei has taken us to Las Vegas in congratulations for our nomination in the 2012 triathlon for the Olympics." Even Sasuke's mouth must have dropped a little at the fact that we were standing with a soon to be Olympian. But really, none of us should have been surprised. Lee was the fastest kid to ever grace the Konoha high school, or even the New England area. And if his training for bicycling and swimming was just as hard as his track training was, there was no doubt in my mine he would win. But the guy said it with such modesty and simplicity that it caught me off guard.

"Lee that's amazing! Good for you bushy brows!" I ran forward and grabbed his hand, shaking it with both of mine and laughing. Lee just smiled and nodded to me. "But where's the rest of your team?"

"Oh! They went to explore their inner youths over there! Where nightly love blossoms into pure contentment! " He pointed to a shady looking building with neon signs of pole dancing women on the windows. How was it that Lee made the idea of strippers seem so innocent?

"Well why didn't you go with them?" I instantly regretted asking when Sakura hit me in the back of the head. I whined and glanced back at her while covering the spot with my hands. Damnit she hit way too hard. "What was that for?"

"Why are you asking such weird questions? Of course Lee wouldn't go in there, he's got some class!" She hissed out while glaring at me. What Lee saw in her I wasn't sure. But even when she glared at me with those evil eyes, Lee's heart was soaring at just seeing her again. He seriously was too romantic for his own good.

"I would never want to waste my time in a place like that, especially when my heart only belongs to one girl." And just like that, the glare from before was replaced with the funniest look of embarrassment that Sakura had ever had. I made sure to keep myself from laughing at how red her cheeks had gotten. Sure Sakura was pretty, and she had gone out with a few guys during the couple years after high school, but she never stayed with them long. And by the way she was acting with Lee, I could tell that the couple years the two had spent apart made Sakura realize what a great guy she had let go.

"I bet you wish you gave him a chance back then, huh?" I nudged her arm and winked, which produced two things. One, was a _huge _difference in her blush. Two…

"I'm going to kill you Naruto!!" I screamed (you'd scream too if you saw the muder in her eyes) and ran like hell around Sasuke and Lee. She easily caught up to be, and I ended up with two more bumps on my head before Lee finally helped me out in pulling the vicious girl away from me.

"It's nice to see you've still stayed the same cute girl as you were in high school Sakura!" I watched the anger seem to blow out of her ears while Lee complimented her. Oh, we were so keeping him around for the rest of the night!

"Hey Lee! Since your group is out getting laid or whatever, you want to hang out with us? I'm sure Sasuke and Sakura wanna catch up with you too. We're heading over to the Hard Rock casino to play some slots and stuff."

"Sure, I'd love to join my friends." Lee's smile still practically sparkled when he shined it, but it seemed to make Sakura a lot more embarrassed than annoyed. It was nice to see how much Sakura had grown up. Instead of clinging onto the fact that Lee wasn't the most handsome man on the planet, Sakura was seeing the inside Lee that was extremely caring and nice. It was about time Sakura saw the truth behind the brows!

I let the two walk ahead of me and Sasuke, watching how eager Lee was to talk to Sakura. She tried to play off his compliments with waves of her hands and rolls of her eyes. Still, her blush was very evident. I felt better knowing that Sakura was going to have just as much fun tonight as I planned to have. After all, it was Vegas right? And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

I was so preoccupied with my ideas of the mischievous things I could get into, that I didn't even notice the two naughty things that were now trying to catch my attention.

"Hey there blondie." I blinked once and stopped, looking around me in confusion. Finally I noticed two girls leaning against a pole in front of me and Sasuke. The other two moved away from us, too busy flirting to noticed we stopped. Neither girl had much clothing on, and they seemed to know it from the way the slid their fingers along their exposed thighs. I blushed a bit at the sexual message they were sending me. It's the damn thighs I tell you! God made those things to be the demise of men! "You wanna come hang out with us?"

"Uh…no thanks, I'm kind of broke," I said, laughing while scratching the back of my head. I really was, since Sasuke was practically paying for the night on the town. Me and Sakura weren't rich like him, and had an entire trip back to Mass to think about.

"Oh that's okay." The other girl licked her lips in a way that would have made most men cave. Since I was kind of batting for both sides at the moment, it didn't affect me as much. "We'd do you for free."

"And if you want, we'll even do it together, sweetie pie." I felt myself grinning stupidly at the idea that I had caught two girls without even doing a damn thing! And especially since Sasuke was standing right next to me, glaring at the girls, made the whole thing so mu—

Wait. I knew that glare. He was using the Uchiha glare on a couple of girls he didn't even know? I wanted to laugh at him, but when I felt an arm snake around my waist and pull me away from the girls, I couldn't speak. I could blush though, which I did immensely as Sasuke dragged me from the corner and toward the casino, glaring back at the girls once before looking forwards again.

"What the hell teme?! I was talking to them!"

"Hn."

"Don't you get pissed off because they liked me better, you jealous bastard." He sent me a look before stopping in front of the hotel to face me. I felt his hand slide from my back to the side of my hip, but he didn't let go. Instead, his hand gripped my side in a way that sent a heavy heat through the lower half of my body. I had to keep my leg from twitching at the feeling.

"You don't want girls like that to like you, idiot."

"W-What?! Why not?"

"Do I need to explain everything to you?" I stared at him with a 'duh' look on my face. Sure I could understand the Uchiha logic at times, when I was lucky and there was a blue moon out. Otherwise, Sasuke was about as easy to read as Chinese instructions.

"They're just girls."

"Number one, you don't know what types of diseases they're carrying. Two, if you do get one pregnant, you're stuck with them for 18 years. And three—" I yelped when he jerked me forward, but I had to bite my lip quickly to keep myself from moaning. His body was pressed against mine in a way I knew the bastard had intended. I squirmed a bit to try and get away, but the sensation of my body rubbing against his was definitely not helping anything. I couldn't take my gaze away from his narrowed eyes, so I quickly glared back to keep from seeming affected by his body. Because the shivering wasn't giving it away or anything. "I said so, dobe."

"T-That's not a reason you idiot!" Still, it seemed that my body agreed with him. I certainly didn't need those girls at the moment. Because if I had a choice between the both of them or the bastard in front of me, it wasn't really much of a contest. I hated the fact that I knew that almost as much as knowing he knew that too. The smirk on his face showed just how confident he was in his attractiveness. Asshole.

"Hey guys, are you planning on coming inside soon?" I jumped and shoved away from Sasuke, stumbling back to catch myself from falling on my ass in the middle of the sidewalk. I nodded my head quickly so I could hide the blush from Sakura and Lee, who had come back from inside of the casino. The pink haired girl glanced between us before smiling. "If you're done I mean."

"Course we're done! Why wouldn't we be?!" I laughed a little too much to be normal and moved toward them, not looking back at Sasuke as I went. Her smile didn't falter as she walked next to Lee, her arms wrapped gently around one of his own arms when we entered the casino.

And boy was the place huge! There were lights and sounds coming from every direction. I felt like I was in a disco ball filled with people, all of who were either extremely attractive or extremely wealthy. And since I was broke, I guess that made me the sexy one. It was pretty hot in the place, especially with everyone crammed together at the tables while playing Poker or Craps.

We spent a lot of our times hanging around the slot machines because they were less crowded. Sasuke (of course) and Lee were extremely lucky for beginners. They didn't win millions, but they sure as hell didn't lose any. Sakura had stopped playing a while ago and was content on watching us all try to win some money. In fact, she even hugged Lee when he won 200 bucks. I think he enjoyed the hug more than the money, because he didn't even pick up the coins until after Sakura had let go of him. Then she blushed when she realized what she had done, and the winnings for the two guys continued. Me on the other hand…

"What?! No! I don't want a bar, I wanted an orange! An or-an-ge!" Okay, so orange didn't have three syllables, but I wanted to make my point clear to the god damn machine that was blinking at me like an idiot. I growled and then pouted, crossing my arms to keep from breaking the machine. That was the last thing that I needed to do when I was losing as much as I was.

"What happened to your luck?"

"Shut it teme." He smirked and turned back to his machine, after getting a winning spin. Oh, and do you know what he won with? A friggen orange! Someone up there really didn't like me.

"Hey guys, why don't we go grab a table and have some dinner, okay? These games are mostly rigged anyways!" Sakura patted my back when another losing spin came up, my spirit sinking down the tubes with it. I nodded and moved from the evil slot machine, letting Sakura lead me to the dining part of the casino. The food was actually pretty cheap considering it was Las Vegas, and it was set up more like a diner than a fancy restaurant. We were even able to get burgers and fries, and sit in a booth! I was seriously starting to enjoy Las Vegas.

"So tell us Lee, where do you live now?" I asked, munching on one of my French fries while I spoke.

"Naruto, don't talk with food in your mouth," Sakura scolded me like a mother does their three year old son. So keeping character, I stuck my tongue out at her once I was sure there was no food left on it.

"Well I had to live in Italy for a little while in order to increase my running skills. They have beautiful mountains there, and it was truly amazing. Then Guy-sensei had me go to Russia to train with the best swimmers than he knows! Once I spent about a year there, I came back to America to meet my team and start to practice with them. It was all very exciting, but I'm glad that I'll be able to come home soon." Instantly Sakura perked up at the information.

"You mean Konoha? You're coming home soon?" He glanced to her and gave another million dollar smile. Really, the kid should have been a toothpaste commercial guy instead of an Olympian.

"Guy-sensei has decided to finish our training at home. I'm going to be coming home in about two weeks once our vacation is over," Lee replied, nodding.

"That's great! Me and Naruto will be home by then. I'll have to get everyone together to throw you a welcome home party." She giggled and Lee's face immediately brightened by her suggestion.

"Thank you very much Sakura! Anything given by you is a very great present." Lee hadn't changed one bit from the boy who left his heart in Konoha with an unknowing pink haired girl. But now that he was back, he was sure making it clear to her. Suddenly, the conversation shifted when Lee glanced to an extremely quiet Sasuke. "But, if I may ask, why is Sasuke not coming home with you?"

"Oh, we didn't tell you huh?" I laughed and leaned closer to the table when Lee shook his head. "He's the whole reason we're on this trip."

"Yea, Sasuke applied for a job and he got it. He had to move to Cali to keep it, and we wanted to make our last couple days together something for him to remember. So Naruto came up with this plan, and here we are! We're planning on bringing him over to his apartment tomorrow." Suddenly, everything stopped for me. Luckily I didn't have anything in my hands, or else I would have dropped it. The word 'tomorrow' resonated so loudly in my head that I closed my eyes to try and shake it off. What was the matter with me? But opening my eyes to stare down at the table, I already knew.

Sasuke was really leaving. This wasn't some messed up dream that I had created just to see what I would do. There was no joke behind it, nothing to just fall back on and make everything return to normal. We were really going to be separated. I grabbed my knee to keep my hand from fisting over my heart. It really hurt now. I could hear Sakura and Lee talking; Lee's excited congratulation being faintly answered by Sasuke. Still, they all sounded like a blur to me. Like I couldn't focus, even if I wanted to. My stomach was churning in a sickening feeling, as if rocking on a boat at sea. I felt disoriented and out of control until something cold pressed against my forehead. Suddenly the reality of the world came rushing back to me and I looked up to see three pairs of eyes on me. The coldness I felt was Sasuke's knuckles pressed to my head, though not enough to actually hurt me.

"Dobe." He was concerned. Even if he didn't show it, I could just _feel _it now. He wanted to know what I was thinking about and why I was acting the way I was. And since I didn't have an answer for him, I pushed his hand away and grinned.

"Sorry, I was thinking of the victory dance I was going to do once I unloaded you onto someone else's shoulders. I've been carrying you sorry ass for too long now. I'm beat." I pretended to yawn to emphasis my point and hopefully convince at least two of the people at the table I was telling the truth. I already knew Sasuke wouldn't believe me. "Speaking of being tired, we better get going to the hotel. We've got lots to do tomorrow."

"I guess you're right," Sakura said slowly, taking the last swig of her soda before standing up. Immediately she stumbled, Lee being quickly to steady her. She gave him a thankful look before glaring down at her shoes. "I should have known not to wear heels."

"I'll assist you Sakura!" And like a knight in shining armor, Lee lifted Sakura bridal style and carried her toward the door. Many of the restaurant workers giggled at the 'cute couple', Sakura blushing and yelling for Lee to put her down. The happy boy ignored her as he whisked her out of the café, like prince charming riding off into the sunset. Well, minus the sunset and white horse.

"They're pretty cute together, huh? Someone should just get them to date before it eats the two alive," I said, looking back at the quiet boy next to me. He nodded, not seeming to be talkative. Then again, when is he? So we walked out of the café in silence once we (as in Sasuke) took care of the bill. It was strange how easily we fell into this odd silence, especially after all the years we had spent fighting. "Sasuke…"

"What?" He glanced over to me, stopping outside of the restaurant. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, what was going on in that big head of his, but refrained when I heard Sakura call out to us.

"Guys! Guess what?!" We both glanced over to her, and the now barefoot girl stopped in the middle of her walk towards us. She stared for a few seconds, an unreadable look in her eyes while she continued to watch us. Did she expect us to move? Wasn't she the one who was telling us something? Well whatever she was thinking about passed before she smiled again, much bigger than before. It almost looked fake. "…Lee said he's going to show me his hotel suite he got, and he's going to introduce me to some of his friends when they get home. And don't worry about me getting home; Lee said he'll bring me back later. But you two better go home and rest, especially you Sasuke! You're driving tomorrow." She waved once to us before moving back toward her waiting love sick puppy, who seemed confused. The two talked for a bit, Sakura shaking her head a few times from what I could see. But the conversation ended quickly, and pretty soon Lee was giving the swollen girl's feet a rest by giving her a piggy back ride back to his hotel.

"Well that was kind of rude. They didn't even as if we wanted to come!" I said, crossing my arms.

"Hn." He didn't wait for me as he turned and walked back toward the parking lot. I blinked and ran after him quickly, the silence retuning with a vengeance. You wouldn't believe how far it followed us! It chased us into the parking lot, followed us down the streets of Las Vegas to the hotel, hounded us in the elevator, and practically mauled us when we walked into the room. But luckily, it gave up and slowly retreated once I fell back onto one of the beds.

"Man, this place is friggen awesome. Could you imagine actually living in a city like this?" He shrugged and moved over to his suitcase, starting to pull out the necessary things he needed for bed. A toothbrush, toothpaste, and a new set of pants to sleep in. I watched him move to the bathroom, slightly blushing when I heard the water running before turning my head up toward the ceiling. I didn't know why I got like that whenever I heard him turn on a shower, but it was not comfortable to say the least. So trying to block out the noise, I rummaged through Sakura's stuff and grabbed her IPod, flipping through her songs and listening to some extremely loud music. And know what I realized? Paramore was _not _a good band to listen to when you didn't want to think about the guy you liked. Especially their song, 'adore'. I recommend not doing that.

My eyes were closed, and I would have fallen asleep to the music if not for a sudden drop of water on my face. Peeking one of my eyes open, I nearly jumped from the bed when a half naked Sasuke appeared in my view. He must have taken it the wrong way, because he rolled his eyes and stepped back from me while I pulled the earpieces out.

"Stop the dramatics dobe, I'm not ugly. Go take a shower, you stink." I glared while he moved to his bed, bending a bit to do something. The dark blue sleep pants slid tighter against his ass while he fiddled with the sheets. Not that I was looking!

…alright, so I glanced.

….a lot.

Whatever, you would too!

"Hey! I don't smell." I was a little late with my comeback. He turned to me and sighed.

"You may not think that odor coming from you is gross, but I do." I scoffed at his insult, but grabbed some clothes for the shower anyways. Might as well, since my little 'friend' was going to need some cool water to help make it settle down. I glanced over to him as I moved into the shower, but moved my gaze away when I found him watching me leave. It was only then I realized how truly alone we were. It was enough to keep my body aroused even when I kept the water freezing. I ignored the need to get rid of my issue and scrubbed my body clean, disregarding the fact that the last time I had showered, Sasuke had been with me. I wondered if he thought of it too when he took his shower.

I came back out with a pair of boxer shorts and a white beater that I knew was going to get too hot to wear by the end of the night. I didn't care as I jumped back onto the bed I was on before, scrubbing my hair with my towel. Or I was, until a pair of hands moved over mine and caused my actions to stop. I didn't raise my head, closing my eyes halfway as I stared at the flat stomach in front of me. Really, this kid was too sure of himself. Sure he knew martial arts and could kick the crap out of people, but he was still skinny. If a fat guy came along and was hungry, he'd be toast.

But when I felt his hands hit mine away from the towel, I moved away from the disturbing fight to enjoy the slow motions of his fingers. Even while he dried my hair, he scoffed.

"You idiot. You keep doing it that way, and you'll be bald by the time your 25." The towel kept my blush hidden from him while I growled.

"Shut up idiot, at least I dry my hair. People get sick and shit from sleeping with wet hair."

"That's in the winter."

"Oh…" I could almost feel his smirk, and I jerked my head up to glare at him. The towel slipped from his fingers and fell to the bed next to me, but I didn't care. I stared up at his impassive face, and the conversation from dinner hit me hard. Tomorrow…

Tomorrow was the last time I'd see this face. Well, maybe not the _last _time, but it'd be like Lee. We'd happen to pass each other when he was home and I wasn't working. He'd change completely without me knowing, while everyone in California got to see him. It would be like we weren't even best friends anymore. I didn't want that. I wanted to keep Sasuke. Screw his apartment, and screw his dad (I'd make it up to his dad by keeping his son happy), and screw this job he didn't even want. All he really needed was me and Sakura and his family. And we were all back at home. Not in Cali. I wanted to say it. I could feel my mouth open and the words bouncing in my stomach.

"Sakura wants to help you unpack." But that was what I came up with. His fingers were still in my hair, and I could tell by the way he remained unresponsive that he already knew that.

"Hn." But he still humored me with a response. I felt extremely annoyed with the idea suddenly.

"I don't."

"Fine."

"I don't want to drive with you there."

"I don't need you to."

"I don't want to see your face in the morning when you leave."

"You don't have to wake up."

"I don't want to say goodbye." He stopped at this one. I felt something flare up inside of me, and I realized it was hope. But what did I expect? Sasuke to randomly quit his job and come home to me? We weren't even sure if we _liked _each other. Hell half the time we fought and argued.

But wasn't that what made us so right together? Because we didn't give a damn about hurting each other? I knew that Sasuke could be an ass, and I told him. He knew I was an idiot, and he said it every chance he could. I thought about every girl that had ever liked him. If he so much as ignored them, they would break down. Sasuke wouldn't waste his time with someone like that. That wasn't what he needed. He needed someone who was going to hear what he demanded, grin like an idiot, and do exactly what he didn't want. _That _was what he needed.

"Then don't open your mouth." I grabbed his wrists and pulled him down to me, not caring I had submitted before him in this stupid game we were playing. My mouth sought his, and quickly explored the soft canvas with my tongue. He didn't remain responsive for long, not that he could. I knew my tongue was starting to learn the special ways to get Sasuke to participate. So when I forced my way into his mouth, he immediately went on the defensive. After all, an Uchiha could never be dominated by an Uzumaki, now could he?

He pushed me back on the bed, and I sunk my nails into his wrists to show the action was not appreciated. He actually scoffed into our kiss before deepening it. Bastard. I pulled his lower lip between my teeth, not biting but holding while my tongue traced along it. Our eyes stayed half open and locked during this, his hand shaking my hold to slide it against my shirt. We both stopped, his fingers freezing when they met the tanned skin underneath the shirt. This wasn't like the bathroom or the kitchen, or anything else we had. We were fully aware of where this was going, and how far depended on us and not when Sakura popped out of the shower. If I wanted this to last all night, I could. Well no, I doubt I could, because our bodies were like an oven with the heat of pent up anticipation. Slowly I released his lip from my mouth in favor of kissing him again. I closed my eyes completely as I felt his hand wander up my shirt, shivering in excitement of feeling his hands touch my skin. Still the kiss was soft, as if any pressure would break the moment between us. And neither one of us could handle that.

I didn't wait for his hand before mine were roaming his skin, easily flicking one of my thumbs against his nipple. I moaned uncaringly when his hips finally connected with mine, the friction seeming to resume from our kitchen escapade. I arched my back when his slim digits found my hardened nub, circling around the coarse skin once before flicking it. I hissed a bit into the kiss at the painful pleasure, bending my knee to get a better rhythm between our hips. Both hands trailed up my sides to pull my shirt up, and I laughed despite how totally arousing it was to have someone else undressing me. He sent me a glare and I shrugged.

"I'm ticklish, asshole." He rolled his eyes and pulled the shirt over my head, tossing it next to my towel before leaning down to pull the exposed skin of my neck into his mouth. I wanted to moan at the sensual touch, but I was already making an incoherent noise from the feeling of his fingers pulling at my boxers. My breath hitched slightly before I grabbed his hand. Again, I got a glare.

"What?" He got kind of crabby when he was horny.

"This doesn't mean I'm coming tomorrow." He didn't bother to answer before his mouth dipped onto my nipple, sucking once and flattening his tongue against it. That time I did moan, because a slender hand had snuck into my boxers and wrapped my cock tighter than a Christmas present. My lips parted in silent need while I tossed my head back on the bed, closing one eye at the pleasure that ran through my body. What the hell was he doing that was making this so hot? Was it because I hadn't done shit in a while? His teeth nipped at my nipple softly and I could already feel the cum surging inside of me.

No way in hell was I going to cum before him.

"Fuck this." I shoved hard on his chest and switched positions, almost whimpering when his hand was jerked away from my body from the movement. Damn, the sacrifices I make for pride. But seeing the slightly startled look (and I use slightly as in, you need a microscope to see it) in Sasuke's features made the pain worth it. I grinned in my typical fashion, but wasted no time in listening to his complaints while I jerked his pants down from his body. Screw the playing around, that was his forte. So I pressed my hand against his throbbing cock and watched the prideful Uchiha glare at me through foggy eyes. I rolled my thumb along his tip and leaned down, licking my name along his stomach with the tip of my tongue. His face flushed in pleasure before leaning back away from my sight. Feeling more confident than even, I dipped my tongue into his bellybutton while pumping his shaft in short, solid trusts. His hips trembled for a second but stayed still, and it dampened my mood a bit. I wanted to make the Uchiha squirm.

I leaned down to bite his thigh, just enough pressure to make his hips jerk from reflexes. But once Sasuke felt how good it was to thrust into my pumping hand, I could tell it was much harder for him to sit still. As it was his breathing had increased, and his thighs quivered. So even the Uchiha had a breaking point. And I tested it by dipping my mouth down to suckle the tip of his cock while I stroked him. The reaction was another jerk of his hips and a muffled moan that escaped. The sound was arousing enough to make my hips grind into the bed to give myself some pleasure while I sucked him. I parted his legs wider while I stroked with my mouth, not completely sure if I was doing it right. Wasn't every day you did stuff like this. So I felt some relief in knowing he liked it when his hips strained to get closer to my mouth.

He was panting now, and I could see through slit eyelids that he was pushing himself to rest on his elbows. I forced myself to open my eyes completely when he looked down at me, smirking a bit at the flushed look on his pale cheeks. I panted a bit around his cock when my jaw cramped, licking the slit of his tip to keep him from losing interest. His fingers were tight in the bed sheets, but he didn't speak as he watched me perform. It was strangely erotic, knowing that something as submissive as giving head was actually the dominant part of the two. Because I had control over when he came, not him. I could make him cum now, or keep going at this for hours. And as tempting as that sounded, we truly had no clue when Sakura was going to be back. Damn, she put a timer on us again without even knowing it.

So I returned to my task, quickly picking up the pace I had left off at. He winced from the sudden start, but I knew it was pleasure and not pain. I drew my eyes from him to focus on the sudden increase of his throbbing. I dipped down lower and sucked hard, and suddenly Sasuke tensed under me. I smirked at how poorly he did with controlling his hips, which continued to jerk and squirm closer to me. But to my disappointment, the idiot didn't say my name! He cocked his head back and gritted his teeth, but he didn't make a god damn nose. That stupid prick. I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and pulled back from him, finally attempting to catch my breath.

The idea lasted for about five seconds until I found myself on my back, arching into the questing mouth that found my completely aroused member. I bit my knuckles to keep from moaning, trying to starve off the noise the same way he did. But the bastard was good at this, from sucking on lollipops or whatever, because his tongue flicked my slit in a way that sent my back flying into an arc. I panted and struggled to get closer to him, desperate to find the release I had been dying for. My body was white hot in need, and almost shaking from the force of feeling his fingers curl around my thighs and keep them parted while he sucked. He didn't even the friggen hand like I did, his mouth was only going halfway and it was still better than any masturbation I had done.

And before I could stop myself, I fell over the edge. My orgasm was harsh and sudden, completely submerging me in white while I struggled to breath. Something moved the blockage from my mouth and air filled my lungs completely, hips jerking mindlessly in need. I wasn't sure if I called his name or not. I knew I said something, but the pleasure blocked my senses. So when I came back down from my high, I weakly opened my eyes to stare up at the ceiling above me. My knuckles hurt, and I realized I had left them in my mouth during my orgasm. That had been what was blocking my mouth. Sasuke must have realized it because there was no way in hell I was connecting those dots during that climax.

"Hah…" I wheezed out, my body too tired to move. So much for those showers we took. We'd have to take another set before Sakura came home. But when I felt Sasuke slide next to me, my body worked on its own. My arms slid around his body, jerking him closer and mumbling some excuse about 'warmth' in the middle of the summer in Nevada. Sasuke didn't protest though, just ran his fingers through my mop of hair before yanking the sheets over us. Sakura passed my mind for a second, but leaving Sasuke was not an option at this point. I closed my eyes softly, feeling a gentle pressure on my forehead before I smiled and succumbed to the sleep my body needed.

Of course when I woke up, Sasuke wasn't in bed. The clock read 7am, which seemed impossible since there was still no sign of Sakura to be found. Sasuke looked showered and completely refreshed, eating some type of cereal in the kitchen. I mumbled something even I wasn't sure of before dragging myself to the shower. By the time I had showered and redressed, any trace of last night was gone. The sheets were taken by the laundry lady, and both beds were made up nicely. It should have felt strange sitting with Sasuke at the table, but it didn't. Actually, it felt kind of nice compared to how many awkward silences we had the night before. Even though breakfast was quiet, it didn't stop me from realizing what today was.

"What time are we leaving today?" He arched an eyebrow and looked up at me. "What?"

"Thought you weren't coming." I had said that, hadn't I? I sighed and stirred my spoon in my cereal.

"I guess you're worth the time. But don't expect me to come inside. I don't wanna see it." Meaning I didn't want to see Sasuke's new home. Away from me. I stabbed a bit into my cereal before shoving it into my mouth. He watched me before shaking his head.

"Your manners are truly disgusting."

"Says you." I swallowed what was in my mouth, taking a swig of my orange juice and looking up to him. I didn't get much father because he had leaned over the table to kiss me. It wasn't like the night before at all. It was small, soft, and completely pointless…unless you were so infatuated with this guy that your toes curled under your kitchen table because of it. I didn't have time to even respond before he pulled away, licking his mouth once. Then he stood up and walked to the sink to clean his bowl before cleaning the dishes. It was the first time we had used dishes, since Sakura never had time to get plastic ones. Well, Nevada was just a bunch of firsts for everyone, huh?

"Apple juice is better for you, dobe." I stared at him while he continued to clean his stuff. I felt completely lost with his actions. Did he want me to say something about apple juice or the kiss? Luckily, I didn't have to chose because Sakura and Lee came stumbling into the suite at that time. Sakura was in a new pair of clothes and looked completely refreshed. Damn, and I thought I was the morning person in the group. These two looked like poster children! Well, at least until you got to…

"Is that the hickey on your neck?" Sakura's eyes widened as I pointed out the blemish just on the side of her neck. I laughed at how quickly her face flushed. Truth be told, Sakura had never been one to step out of line. So seeing her with a hickey was quite a sight.

"Lee!" Sakura snapped, looking to her adoring lover.

"It's a symbol of youth Sakura! We should be happy." Lee was still spewing that youth shit even now. It was funny how some things never changed about a person. Like Sakura's violent temper, or her need to always take it out on me even when I wasn't the one who gave her the god damn hickey to begin with!

So now the four of us drove toward California, Lee wanting to say a proper goodbye to Sasuke. We talked and laughed during the ride, but for me it was fake talk. If anyone asked me what the conversations were, I had no clue. The only things I clicked in on were the time measurements. Three hours. Two. Hour and twenty minutes. Forty five. Thirty two. Seventeen. Eight. Just up the street.

Here.

"Oh wow Sasuke! This place is amazing! There's a pool in the back too? You are so lucky!" Sakura's giggles were annoying to me. I just wanted her to stop and realize what this all meant. I stayed silent in the passenger seat until Sakura kicked the chair a bit. "Naruto let me out."

"Oh, sorry." I really wasn't. But I helped her out and waiting till Lee was out before shutting the door behind me. I stared at the passenger seat for a bit before looking over the car to see Sasuke grabbing the bag he'd been using for the trip. I knew everything else was already in the apartment. He shut his door loudly, and Sakura's mindless chatter seemed like a foreign language at the moment. I stared at the apartment, which looked like a mini house, and narrowed my eyes. It had nothing on home.

"Are you sure you don't need help unpacking? I'm sure we wouldn't mind helping you out." I looked back to the three who stood near the steps of the house. Sasuke shook his head once, and Sakura sighed. The tears were visible in her eyes even as she smiled, hugging him tightly and mumbling her goodbyes. Lee and Sasuke shook, Lee saying some speech about being prosperous and fortunate. By now Sakura was crying, and I winced when I realized that she was just as upset as everyone. And here I was, thinking I was the only one who was hurt. I'm sure nobody wanted him to leave, but they didn't want to hold him back either.

It hurt to know what I had to do. But Sasuke was my best friend, and I would rather see him do what he wanted then do what I needed him to. So taking a deep breath, I jogged over to stand in front of him and smiled. He stared at him in the same stoic face that he used every day. It hurt a bit to know that even now he couldn't smile, but I shrugged it off. Holding my hand out, I forced the hardest words from my mouth.

"Well teme, guess this is goodbye." Again a blank stare and no response. My grin was slowly lost as I stared at him, feeling completely confused. What the hell was his problem now?

"Hn." My eyes widened as he tossed the keys at me, narrowing his eyes. "Don't scratch that car."

"I-" But he was already inside of the house, slamming the door in my face. I waited for him to come back out for at least five minutes. I knew it was at least that long, maybe longer since Sakura and Lee started to make up excuses as to why he was like that. Because I was his best friend, and it was hard. Because he was stressed and didn't know how to respond. Because he was sad that he was leaving. No matter what they said, I didn't care. I just wanted him to say goodbye.

After I spent all those weeks in a smelly car with him. After I got beat up for him. After I made out with him in some hotel shower. After giving up a three some. After giving him a god damn blowjob! He didn't even have the decency to say goodbye? To say he was upset too, and he was going to miss me? I said the one thing I told him I didn't wanna say to make him feel better and he slammed a door in my face! What the hell was wrong with him?!

And…it was then I realized how much Sasuke meant to me. I loved him. I wanted to deny it at first; because it's not every day you fall in love with your best guy friend. But remembering the kiss he gave me in the kitchen, on the forehead before I fell asleep, and knowing how much more they had affected me than the careless ones I'd swapped between people before, made me cave. I loved Uchiha Sasuke. And he didn't love me. I wanted to throw up right there. I didn't want to move because I was scared if I did, I'd break down. Everything came at me so fast, I felt lost in a whirlpool.

How I ended up in the car and driving, I wasn't sure. Sakura was next to me, shifting a bit in silence while I stared at the road in front of me. We were still in California, I could tell by the fancy street signs. We were out of Los Angeles though, more toward a rural area with not as many cars and people. There was no city life to make background noise for us. There was no city at all. Which meant there was no Sasuke.

"Hey, I know. We can listen to your CD now!" Sakura nodded and threw on the radio, pressing the play button for the CD. Since we hadn't touched the CD since Sasuke shut it off in Nevada, the song picked up where it had left off. I didn't sing.

_Can we bring yesterday back around?  
'Cos I know how I feel about you now  
I was dumb, I was wrong, I let you down  
But I know how I feel about you now_

Not a day pass me by  
Not a day pass me by  
When I don't think about you

And there's no moving on  
'Cos I know you're the one

_And I— _

I slammed my hand hard into the radio, the song coming to an abrupt stop. I broke the radio. I didn't give a damn. I just wanted the song to _end._

"Na-Naruto!" I jerked the car to the side of the road, slamming hard on the brakes and stopping in a pile of dust. I let go of the wheel to smash my hands against the steering wheel, ignoring the loud blaring of the horn to press my forehead against the top of it. The same forehead Sasuke had kissed last night. The same one he'd never kiss again.

"Damnit! Damnit!" I continued to hit my hands against the wheel, not caring how pathetic I looked in front of them. Let them know I was in love with Sasuke, I didn't care anymore. What difference did it make now that he had walked out of my life for a god damn job? A job he didn't even want to begin with!

"Naruto stop! Please!" Sakura's arms were around me now, hugging me as tightly as she could. My body was shaking so bad, it affected the strength of my voice. Not like it mattered, since it cracked through the tears behind my eyelids.

"Why me Sakura? Why do I even give a damn about _him_? He just stood there…he just let me walk away! Didn't even say goodbye! Didn't…didn't even try to make me stay…why do I still wanna go back to that…that asshole! I should kick his ass! Stupid teme! Stupid stupid teme!" She stayed quiet, her gentle hand soothing my back while she pressed her forehead against my temple. I opened my blurry gaze to stare at how tightly my fists were clenched. I only had to blink once to feel the tears slipping down my cheeks.

"Because…you love him, Naruto." She spoke it as if she was my heart. How stupid does that sound? But it was true. I swallowed the sob into my mouth as I let her hold me, my body no longer in control of my tears. I knew Lee sat quietly behind us, and it was nice to know at times he wasn't so happy. Because that meant I didn't have to always smile either, ya know?

I'm not sure how long I stayed in Sakura's embrace. It felt like forever. For once that entire day, I was glad that Sasuke wasn't there. How pathetic would I have looked to him, sitting in the car he got me and bawling my eyes out in front of Sakura and Lee? No wonder he didn't want to stay with me! I finally got a hold of myself after picturing how Sasuke would mock me, as if trying to prove to my own illusion that I wasn't weak. We dropped Lee off at his hotel, the two sharing an intimate moment that I couldn't even bare to look at. I had to turn my head when they leaned in to kiss. She came back with a piece of paper, which I assumed had Lee's new address and phone number, because her cheeks were that love-sick pink I had experienced only hours before. But as soon as she entered the car, she slipped the paper into her pocket and grabbed my hand with her own before starting to direct me away from the memories.

We were somewhere in Colorado, I think. Sakura had told me to go this way, since it would take less time than going back through Texas. Honestly I think she was doing it for my own sanity. I'd have to thank her later for it. I stared down at the gas tank, which said we'd need to fill up soon or else we'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that'd be better than going home, but I had Sakura to think about. She was still holding my hand, and the touch shook me down to the bone. She had watched me fall apart and hadn't left me. She really was an amazing best friend.

I continued to drive along with Sakura, heading home. And yet, even with her warm hand in mine, and my entire life waiting for me at home, I felt _alone_.

Because my heart had been ripped to pieces on a California driveway.

**Okay…so you all understand my disclaimer now….-hides- I'm sorry! It had to be done! I feel horrible too! BLAME THE PLOT BUNNIES!! My poor baby Naruto. But I hope that you all didn't get too upset…well I mean the writer side of me does because that was the point. But the Niki side of me doesn't! It wants to cry with you! So no, Naruto is not moving to Cali. In fact, Sasuke didn't even say goodbye! Just slammed a door in his face! What will Naruto do now? How will he recover? And what will he do when he see the developed pictures and camera? It's all in the next and final chapter! So reviews would be lovely! =D just to make sure you don't all hate me and want me to stop. Sorry if I sux. **


	5. Love's Grip

Alright! So I feel really bad for leaving in such a sad spot in the last chapter, and so I started to write this the next day! Unfortunately, I have work both Saturday and Sunday, so I don't know when this will be out. I don't have classes Monday or work, so I guess that'll be when I do it. Uh, the new story is coming out in a couple days, and I have a **ONE-SHOT** in the process. As in, one chapter! I hope –sighs-. But lets get to the thank-yous. –looks at the 4 pages of reviews- epp….Well thanks to **Bloodredangel 808 **for my first review, sorry for making you cry! If it helps, you weren't the only one. Now…**Cierra **(Okay okay, just for you and my sanity's sake =D), **Akiru chan **(Well I'm sorry for making you almost cry, but I'm glad oyu liked it. And you told someone else to read my stuff? –blushes- thanks!!), **Norway 22 **(Well that idea would be cute, but it's the emo queen…gotta be big and flashy!), **Searafina **(thanks for all the compliments, and I thought it was about time Sakura got someone too, since the next couple stories she probably won't…), **Nana-Riiko **(Great for no thunderstorms! But sorry for making you sad…this will make you better!), **Lydia-chan **(well here's the ending, and thanks so much for reading my story, you are one of my fav reviewers), **MasochistandSadist **(-steps away from Sadist while comforting Masochist- i-its…okay..uhm I'll make it all better…uh….there there…please don't let Sadist slap me…-offers cookies-), **Sakurananachan **(babies…haha…-faints-, jk jk! But heres that last chapter you wanted! Hope you like it), **The Closet Case **(funny name! I'm talked about? –blushes- Oh my…I feel so lucky! Thank you for your sweet words, but I'm not even close to the best!), **Mako 588 **(okay…please don't explode…here is your chapter! Haha thanks for the sweet review), **Vernon Sullivan **(I think I have a lot of reviewers, and honestly, I'd rather have a little with nice reviews than a lot with mean ones), **Exorcist-Miranda **( Yea, I'm really hoping this comes fast enough so those torture devices are not needed in the near future…), **Deathangellebz **(Two words for you: No life. =D that's why.), **kat10788 **(Ah not Kakashi! Hes too cute to fight…I mean…scary…-coughs- heres that chapter!), **Lia **(Thanks for telling me the Guy thing! I tried to figure it out, but everyone spells it different ways), **Mystique Monique aka Mina **(I hope this satisfies your need to have a good ending…), **a rather slytherine griffindor **(when you said my name, I was like 'how is that possible?!' then I realized I said it in the end…haha!), **Wawuchen **(sorry, I try to just make them like real life…but thanks for the review!), **Gold chocolate cake **(Don't worry, I had a shelter prepared just in case my evil plot bunnies tried to take over this chapter…but they didn't), **zerofangirl **(Thanks for the long review! I know, it was a very emotional chapter, but it gets better! And FINALLY someone appreciates that line! Happy late V-day to you too), **Skele **(-blushes deeply- I'm so embarrassed that you think I'm that good. Thank you so much for that compliment! –hugs-), **Tarff **(I know, the evil plot bunnies are in a cage right now getting punished. And don't worry, Niki is coming to the rescue to save Naru's broken heart! ), **Chipfest ** (Lee is pretty good for comedic relief, and I think he's got such a sweet heart), **chimerical **(haha I seem to be making people fall in love with me a lot…-blushes- And don't worry, Sasuke will show how he feels in a Sasuke-way), **Kazanri **(Sorry for making you cry! But I'll make it all better, I promise!), **raeru **(haha you finally caved and got one! And I'd never make you break that proposal! So here, I'll make it all better!), **Pebbles of the Sand **(It's okay, even if you review once I'm happy! And I hope this ties up the loose ends too, because I wanna make you all happy), **mysticalilly **(I never really do too much angst, but I guess it worked out here because people liked it. And I hope this came out fast enough for you!), **robin Maxwell **(to be honest, I only thought this was going to be a couple chapters, so that's why it was on complete, but then it turned into 5…-sweatdrops-), **Disgruntled Minion **(I can't believe she told me about you! –blushes- well I hope I live up to your expectations!), **Chiaki Megumi **(haha you did fine, don't worry about it! I suck at English too, and I've known it for 18 years now!), **sheens 142 **(well I hope you read the last chapter, and I'm very thankful for your review!), **jenniebennie **(Well your predictions are right because this is the finally Chapter! Thanks for the sweet review!), **Claimed by Insanity **(even though you just read this today, I'm hoping that this was fast enough for you! Now enjoy!)

And that's it! At least I'm still alive. Okay, so here is the chapter you've all been waiting for! The ending to 'Life is a Highway'. Love you all lots, thanks for the great reviews.

**Warning****: Okay, if you've been reading this for THIS long, and don't expect a lemon….walk away….just, walk away…**

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own Naruto. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make a certain blonde stop crying…-pets Naruto-**

**Love Grip**

_I feel so stupid taking this fall  
I should have seen it known all along  
I won't break this silence we've shared for so long  
I will be strong_

"Naruto, what are you listening to? Oh never mind! You can't stay in this bed forever! Now get up!" I groaned at the feminine voice before snuggling closer to my bed. I really did not want to get up today. I tried to ignore her by covering my head with my blankets, but Sakura was way too persistent to let that go. Instead she grabbed the blankets, pulling them over my head and leaving me nothing to snuggle into. I whined and groggily looked up at her.

"What now Sakura?" I mumbled, watching my best friend place her hands onto her hips and scowl.

"Don't tell me that you forgot about our plans!" Shit. I made dinner plans with her didn't I? I groaned and threw my arms over my eyes at the memory of my promise. Since Lee was supposed to be coming home in two days, we had to get the rest of his party plans done. Sure we had picked the date for Saturday, but that was only five days away. And Sakura wanted to be perfect for the 'event of the year'. Yea, right.

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. Even if I wanted to stay in my bed all day, it was pointless to even try with Sakura. Especially when it came to things she felt strong about.

"It's almost 4:30, and we said we'd meet Ino and Sai at dinner by 5:30. Leave it to you to forget our plans. Why do I put up with your lazy butt." But even as she said it, she leaned over and ruffled my bed head in a way that showed how truly intertwined we were. She smiled softly, her hand staying in the mop I called hair. "You goof."

"It's not fault you wake up at the ass crack of dawn." But I forced myself to sit up and stretch. Glancing around my room, I perked up and leapt to the basket of clean clothes my mom must have left in my apartment (she was always doing my laundry since the last time I tried, I broke the washer at the laundry mat). I rolled with the plastic laundry hamper before wrestling an outfit out of it. Sakura watched me, and I wasn't sure if she was amused or mortified with my actions. I shrugged on an orange tee-shirt, looking to her and arching an eyebrow. "Are you going to watch me change? Because I don't mind, but I've gotta get naked and I'm not sure Lee wants you experiencing 'youthful pleasure' with anyone else."

"Naruto!" She threw my pillow at my head and I laughed at the dark blush on her cheeks. From the suggestion of watching me strip or what her and Lee did was a mystery I'd never figure out. But the girl stormed to the living room, slamming the door shut while I struggled out of my boxers. After tossing together some new (and hopefully clean) boxers and jeans, I was ready to go. And the warm air that greeted me moving from my house was a lot more comforting than I wanted to admit. Most of the summer I had been travelling the other parts of the country, so being at home did feel pretty good. The summers weren't too hot, and being able to shower every day was a plus. My mom practically cried as soon as she saw me. I'm 21, and yet she still treats me like I'm 12.

But that was over ten days ago. It had taken me and Sakura about four days to get home, mainly because we cut straight across the country instead of going around. Ino and the others had dragged us out when we got back, making Sakura replay the entire trip for them. I only spoke when I needed to, like the fight or the four corners. I laughed or protested when I had to, because if I didn't, then they would all see how truly affected I was by the trip. Sakura hesitated at certain parts, and skipped the last day of our trip with Sasuke completely. Maybe it was the narrowing of my eyes on the window I stared out of. Somehow, she got passed it without talking about my mental breakdown over Sasuke.

Because it wasn't completely done yet. It was the bastard's fault really. I mean he kept saying that nothing would change; we'd still be best friends. Except best friends don't kiss, and touch, and grind and…and _fuck _it got so messed up, didn't it? No wonder he hadn't bothered to call me in the past two weeks. What were we going to say really? 'Hey, what's up, how about that amazing blow job you gave me'? That'd be about as smooth as a porcupine.

The past two weeks without Sasuke had been hard. And no, I'm not being dramatic. Do you realize how hard it is to do things when the better half of you is 3000 miles away and ignoring you? Not to mention I have to keep explaining to people where that 'quiet young darked hair friend of mine' was. The lady down the hall who always saw us together, the woman at the grocery store that checked out my groceries while I argued with the teme about not letting me buy ramen, the girl who sold me ramen before Sasuke caught me, the group of females who used to watch me and Sasuke run (see a pattern?) And now, constantly trying to break theses habits that I only did with the black haired asshole was a lot harder when I couldn't keep my thoughts off of him. Like now. Gah I'm doing it again.

"Naruto, isn't this Sasuke's CD?" I jerked my head over to Sakura, who seemed intent on listening to the CD playing in my car (my mom was so happy I was home, she made my dad fix my radio). Wait, when did I get in here? Am I driving? Ah! "Red light!"

"Shit!" I slammed on the breaks, my car jerking to a stop in front of the bright red light. We both sighed in relief, Sakura flopping back into the seat before sending me a death glare.

"What were you doing?!" I shrunk back from the dangerous girl in guilt.

"Uh…nothing?" Like I was really going to tell Sakura I almost just killed both of us because I was thinking about the teme. I wasn't that dumb!

"Nothing? You almost just sent us straight into the intersection."

"Yea but I didn't do it, now did I?" She continue to glare, so I turned back to look at the green light before moving forward cautiously. After a few seconds without our lives being put in danger, a heavy sigh came from the right of me.

"You didn't answer me. What are you doing with Sasuke's CD? I thought you hated his music?"

"I-I do! It's just…well; the teme had some good songs on there." I squirmed a bit, still not feeling comfortable in talking about Sasuke for long periods of time. But Sakura wasn't pressing me, and my mouth opened again. "Once you get past the first couple songs, he's got some good music."

"Really? That's good." We fell into a comfortable silence for a few seconds. The music was quiet between us, some song by a band I discovered was named 'A Rocket to the Moon'. Sure they were pretty sappy. A lot of their lyrics reminded me of…of someone. But they were pretty catchy once you got used to it.

"I didn't steal them." She laughed and nodded while we pulled into the diner's parking lot.

"I didn't say you did."

"He just left them with me," I continued as if she had accused me. Why was I so defensive? I finally pulled sharply into a parking spot, feeling more defensive than I needed.

"Naruto—"

"He left everything he didn't want in the car! The CDs, the water bottles, the….the…" The idiot who fell in love with him. Yea, he left that too. I hated feeling this upset. It had been two weeks damnit. Two weeks and I still couldn't get him out of my head! When it was so obvious that he could just forget me, I had to walk around like an emo zombie. I was sick of feeling like this. So I shook my head, trying to resist the permanent feelings inside of me. Then I grinned to my passenger and waved as if to erase what I had just said. "It's his loss. The emo part of him must be bawling his eyes out not being able to listen to his MCR."

"You're…you're such a weirdo Naruto." She pushed out of the car and I followed, locking it before running after her. We easily found the blond girl waving to us from across the room while the more reserved guy continued to sip his coffee. Sai, who only went by Sai, was a guy that Ino had stumbled upon when she was trying to find me a present for my 19th birthday. He was rude, annoying, and a total jerk! All he did was pick on me and make fun of parts of me that he wished he could see. His hair was cut in a straight style that he probably ironed to keep straight. And every time he saw me, I swear a pair of horns grew from his head.

"Naruto-kun." It made my blood boil when he called me that. It was the only reason he did it after all. "So glad to see your ugly face today."

"You shut up Sai! Who invited the jerk anyways?" I muttered, crossing my arms and sitting across from Ino.

"We're using his house, idiot! Man Naruto, you really need to pay attention more." Ino hit my forehead with her knuckles before rolling her eyes. "He's the only one out of all of us that could actually fit more than five people in his loft without seeming crowded."

"My apartment is huge!"

"Yea, and full of ramen cups and trash." Well, Sakura had a point there. And by the look she was giving me, I was pretty sure she was going to make me clean it sooner or later. So trying to get off the subject of my apartment, I grabbed the menu.

"Do they have ramen here?"

"I supposed that's why his body is so flabby and unattractive. Ramen is a horrible sense of protein." My eye twitched at his insults, and I tried to keep myself from killing him. Because if I killed him, then one of the girls would kill me. Either Ino for killing her little painter friend, or Sakura for ruining Lee's party. Maybe they would kill each other first to see which one could kill me, and then I could get away with it! But then I'd have to pay the bill…hmm…

Sai could live for now.

"Party." I spat the word out, and watched two sets of feminine eyes sparkle in excitement.

"It's in five days, and we still need to figure out who's coming, what to make for food, what we're going to do at the party, and what type of party it is!" At Ino's enthused check list, I blinked.

"How many types of parties are there?"

"Pool, slumber, bowling, movie, costumed, black and white tie affair, pizza—"

"Sorry I asked," I mumbled, cutting her extremely long file off. She nodded once and glanced at the other two at the table while I continued to look for the golden word on the menu. So far, no luck.

"Well what one should we do? I mean I want it to be original and all, especially if my name is connected to it," Ino said, nodding.

"Well the pool thing doesn't work, since Sai doesn't have a pool. And slumber may be too crowed to sleep. Bowling would mean we'd have to arrange car pooling and stuff. The movie could be good I guess.."

"We could show your videos of your road trip at the party! That would be a good laugh, don't you think?" I lifted my head at Ino's suggestion.

"But Lee's not in our videos. What would be the point of showing them?" Both girls glanced to each other, as if wondering to answer my question or not. Apparently, Sai saw this as an opportunity to open his big mouth.

"For humor. Anything with your face in it will be funny." I hit the idiot in the head with my menu, ignoring the glares I got from the girls.

"You shut up!" His smile was so fake; it gave Santa and Cupid a run for their money.

"Okay, so we'll do the video just to add some laughs to the night. Not laughing at you though, Naruto." Sakura placed a calming hand on my arm and smiled before she continued. "What if we ordered pizza for the party, and we can get some games and just hang out. I mean, I'm sure Lee won't want anything too extravagant."

"This is Lee we're talking about. All he wants is you, Sakura." I watched her blush from my comment before I grinned. Lately pink was a very popular color for her cheeks. Lucky for her the waitress came, and we ordered our food quickly before diving back into our conversation.

"So how many people did you invite to this thing anyways?" I asked. Ino and Sakura glanced to each other (they seemed to do that a lot) before Ino shrugged.

"Well I invited about 20."

"Yea me too." I could already tell this party was going to get out of hand. Well, at least it was Sai's loft. I wouldn't feel bad if I 'accidentally' broke something in there.

"And how are we going to pay for all of these people to eat anyways? Last time I checked, my bank account was empty." And it was. The trip had drained every last dollar from my bank, and now I wasting the money I had in my wallet on a dinner date I didn't even want to go to. Life was so unfair.

"Don't worry about that! We've got the money situation under control," Ino said, winking. I rolled my eyes at her words. Her dad was probably paying for it, since I knew that neither Sakura nor Ino had the money to spare. After all both were about to graduate from college and with that comes very expensive bills. But Ino's dad was not poor to say the least. Granted they were no Uchiha family, but they were very well off. They could pay for a party like this no problem.

"So then when is the party starting?"

"Two." Ino said, making me nod.

"So when should I-"

"One." The girls were synchronized in their hurried answer. I blinked once as they sent each other another set of looks. Just what was going on with these two?

"Hey, you two aren't turning lesbian on me, are you?" I quickly ducked when Ino threw a piece of ice at me. "I was just checking!"

"Your stupidity is very humorous Naruto-kun. Please continue to add brainless comments into the conversation." Did I mention how much I hated him? Because I did. Right down to the very core of my existence.

"I'm going to run you over in the parking lot."

"Well the idea would have worked if not for letting me know your plans prematurely." …damnit! I always mixed the villain order up. First you set them up, then you tell the plan, then you continue. I mixed up the first two steps!

"Speaking of your car, did I mention how jealous I was that you got that? It's like, the coolest looking car ever!" I glanced out to where I had parked my car and smirked a bit at how dreamy Ino's voice had become. Even though the girl was in love with boys and shopping, she did have an odd fascination with cars. "Why on earth did you get Sasuke to give you that thing?"

"It was my valentine's gift." I tensed after I spoke, not thinking of how awkward it sounded. Ino raised an eyebrow while Sai only continued to sip his coffee, my cheeks now burning in color. "Sa-Sakura makes us swap gifts! I-It's not like w-we want to or anything!"

"Uh huh." Ino's smirk showed how much she didn't believe me. I glanced to Sakura for help, to tell our friends that she forced us to give gifts, but the girl was too busy texting on her phone to notice us. I frowned and leaned over to see what the text message was, but Sakura quickly snapped her phone shut and glared.

"Naruto! That was a private message you know. Stop being so nosy."

"What, you sending Lee sexy messages or something?" Sakura growled through her embarrassment and hit my head hard.

"You pervert."

"Says the one writing those kinds of messages." Ino laughed at our exchange and saved Sakura the trouble of answering.

"So anyways, back to the car. Why would he give you such an expensive gift for Valentine's day? I mean, no offence, but it's you." And _how _was I not supposed to be offended by that? I shrugged off my feelings of irritation as Ino continued. "He must have wanted it close by for when he gets back. I'd sure have a problem giving up a car like that."

I bet that was what he was thinking when he first gave me the car. Now, I wondered if he changed his mind. The conversation at the table became pointless as the dinner date went on, and I found myself staring at the car again. How many memories did I have in that thing? Just the road trip alone was enough to last forever. My hand tightened around my drink at the thought. The bastard was probably regretting his decision to give it to me. He'd never be able to drive it again as far as I was concerned. If he wanted to drive it he'd have to ask, which seemed impossible since he wasn't talking to me.

I ate the last of my food while Sakura and Ino said goodbye to each other. They hugged and departed, Sai and Ino one way while me and Sakura went the other. She waited until I shut my door before she spoke.

"Hey, you wanna just drive around or something? Go somewhere and talk?" Talking actually sound good right now. And I had a feeling it was better than being alone at the moment. So I nodded and moved from the parking lot, driving through our sleepy little town. By the time we got around to actually stopping at the Konoha playground, it was getting dark. The street lights were stuck with the indecision of staying on or off, flickering constantly while we walked under them. I don't really know why I chose the playground, since it held no real significant meaning to me. But I needed somewhere that would be empty, quiet, and away from the middle of town. And luckily, there was nobody in sight.

"I haven't been here in years," I mumbled, staring up at the sky while I dropped down into a swing. She accompanied me on the identical swing next to mine and giggled.

"We're way too old to be here."

"What?! No way! You're never too old to come here! It's like a no age limit place." She continued to laugh at my adamant denial. Then again, it was pretty rare to see two 21 year olds in a playground without kids with them.

"I guess if you have one with the maturity level of a two year old, then it's okay." I grinned at what should have been an insult from her.

"You wanted to swing as soon as you realized where we were going." She didn't respond at first, but finally huffed and started to push herself. I followed suit, and pretty soon we were swinging pretty high. Feeling the adrenaline that I hadn't felt in a long time, I waited for a few good swings before I let go, jumping off of the swing and flying through the air. I landed on my feet for a second, but the force of my body made me jerk forwards and roll a few feet on the sand. I panted when I stopped on my back, clutching my stomach and laughing even when Sakura dropped next to me in concern.

"Naruto are you okay?!"

"Oh man, I haven't gotten so much air since I tried doing that after senior prom! You looked just like you did back then too, but you were all fancy and shit. And Sasuke just stared at me like I was an idiot or something! That was the best night ever!" I continued to laugh even when she tackled me, the two of us rolling around on the ground and completely ruining our clothes. We settled down after a little while, Sakura lying across from me while we both stared up at the sky. It felt amazing playing like this, like everything was completely normal again. But, there was a part of me that continued to whisper 'Sasuke's not here'. A part I seriously was ready to shoot and hang by its toenails.

"So, Naruto…"

"So Sakura…" She sent me a glare that only made my smile widen.

"Don't copy me!"

"Aw you're no fun. I really did wanna ask you how fuzzy brows was doing." She couldn't stop the twitch of a smile at the mention of Lee. Still she tried to act casual in her talking.

"Lee's fine. He's really excited to come home soon. He hasn't seen anyone else in a couple years and he wants to make sure everyone is alright."

"Couldn't he just ask if everyone is alright?"

"This is Lee we're talking about. He's a man of action, not words." I smirked and nudged her shoulder with mine.

"Yea, I saw that from the hick—"

"Not…another…word." I licked at the hand that was covering my mouth and she shrieked before jerking it away. "Naruto!"

"You're just lucky that damn thing was gone by the time we got home. It was like a giant sign saying 'youthfulness was here'."

"Yea well you had marks too!" The playful humor stopped as soon as the words left her lips. I winced a bit at the memory of noticing them the night after he left. There was one on my neck, on against my shoulder, and one on my stomach. I never knew how much pressure he was using in his sucking until that night. It was a painful reminder of everything that had gone on between us those couple of weeks. The marks had faded now, but I still knew where they had been. That was enough to keep them alive.

"Have you……ya know, talked to the teme or anything?" I mumbled weakly, holding onto the sand underneath us. She didn't seem to want to speak, which clearly gave her answer before she nodded.

"Yes. Today actually, before I came to pick you up." Well, at least she wasn't lying to me. I nodded and stared up at the sky to hide the anger I was sure stood out.

"That's great. Glad he's keeping in touch with someone." I wasn't sure how much of my frustration showed in my voice. Probably a lot by the weakness in Sakura's tone.

"He's…he's got his first executive meeting in a couple of days. Supposed to be a big make or break thing. I think he's probably nervous, though he doesn't really show it." My fists clenched tighter into sand, but I tried to ignore it with a laugh.

"That idiot, he'll just do fucking perfect like always."

"Yea, maybe." I glanced over to her while she stared off, feeling a sense of jealously that I knew she didn't deserve. Why did he choose Sakura over me? Wasn't I important too? It was hard enough knowing that whatever we had during the trip was gone, but losing Sasuke completely was more than I could handle. Didn't he know that? Didn't he feel the same?

"Let's go home. We've…we've got to rest up so we can get ready for the party, ya know?" I made it sound as casual as I could, brushing the sand off of me while I stood. She nodded quietly and followed me back to the car, the rest of the night practically silent between us. It wasn't like I was mad at Sakura, because she didn't force Sasuke to talk to her. He did it on his own, which I was knew was true since Sasuke could almost never be forced to do something he didn't want to. Which meant that Sasuke was also avoiding me on purpose.

I left Sakura at her car while I moved into my apartment. I glanced around slowly, slightly admitting that the mountain of ramen cups would eventually have to be cleaned up. But not tonight. Instead, I grabbed my cell phone and headed toward my bed, flopping down on it and staring up at the ceiling. No missed calls. No missed text messages. Nothing.

"Damnit." I threw my phone open, scrolling down the lists of names. I wasn't a loner by any means. I had lots of friends that I could spend time with and I was sure most of them wouldn't mind. But when I got to the 'S' part of my phone, my finger stopped on his name. I stared at it in silence for a few seconds, debating what I should do. Was there anything I _could _do? I mean, he had been avoiding me. But…I just didn't want it to end like this! If he was going to throw me away, fine. But he was going to be a god damn man about it! So I pressed send, and listened to the persistent ringing in my ear.

"_Hn. If you don't know who you're calling, hang up—"_

"_Sasuke! That's not how you do a message damnit! Hello, this is Sasuke's phone! If you wanna talk to the teme leave a message. If you wanna talk to this hot guy, then leave a message for Naruto."_

"_Dobe." _I felt my heart clench at the old message I had made with Sasuke. Why hadn't he changed it? If he was so desperate to get rid of me, wouldn't that be one of the first things he'd want to get rid of? Granted I knew nobody ever called for me on Sasuke's number, but there was always a chance they would. I swallowed weakly when I heard the beep, and cursed knowing it would show up on the message.

"Uh…" Alright, maybe I should have thought out what I was going to say before I called. "Shit. Teme I…y-you left all your damn CDs in the car! A-and the water bottles and…and….you said nothing would change. You promised…now look! You didn't even sa-say bye! You just left me there! And I…"_I can't be without you…"_Gah! You got me sounding like a fucking woman you asshole! Next time I see you, I'm kicking your ass!" By the time I had shut the phone, I brushed both sets of tears away from my eyes in anger. I knew I sounded like I was crying in the message, and that just made me more pissed and more upset and more crying occur. I felt my stomach drop to the point that I couldn't even make myself get out of bed in fear of it falling to the floor. Instead, I curled myself into a ball on the bed and cursed every day that I had spent with the idiot. Eventually I fell asleep into a dreamless slumber. It was better than thinking of Sasuke anyways.

Sasuke didn't call me. He didn't leave me an email or text, didn't try to talk to me through Sakura. It had been four long days where I didn't shut my phone off once in hopes that somehow, the gods would let up on me and get the idiot to call. But apparently, even gods had problems convincing Sasuke to do things. I almost laughed at the image of seeing Sasuke give the gods an Uchiha glare. Leave it to him to defy logic.

"Welcome back Lee!" The crowd cheered loudly for Lee's return, the smiling boy waving to the party when he entered. Sakura moved to his side, and it was cute to see how immediately Lee's eyes drifted to his high school love. They made their way through the crowd, which was huge. As I expected, there were more people that Ino and Sakura predicted. Because when they told one of the Sasuke fangirls (yes, even _now _they still followed him) that his video would be showing, the news spread like wildfire. Some of them even came with Sasuke pins attached to their shirts. I decided to ignore them the best I could, not wanting to listen to their obsessive talk. If I did, I might have let it slip about Sasuke's true sexual orientation.

"Hey bushy brows." I laughed despite Sakura's glare at the nickname. Even if he wasn't as bad as he was in high school, he would always be bushy brows to me. "How's life back in Konoha? You miss it?"

"Very much so. All of our friends have grown and matured so much!" Since Lee was a very emotional person, it was no surprise to see the tears in his eyes.

"Well of course we all did, we weren't just going to stay the same while you went off and became a superstar on us," I said, shrugging. I grabbed a drink from the tray that Ino was walking with and took a chug of liquid before continuing. "Did you know Neji's planning on becoming the governor of Mass?"

"Well he's smart enough to do it. And hopefully he'll help make the state better instead of worse like the last guy." Sakura sighed and shook her head quickly, glancing to Lee and smiling. "You and Neji were pretty close in high school, right?"

"We kept in touch during the years too. I was so excited to hear of his proposal to Tenten. Ah, the youthfulness of love is in the air."

"I think you'll be talking about that even when we're all old and too handicapped to have sex," I said, earning me a hit in the head by his very violent girlfriend. "One of these days Sakura, I'm going to file for assault against you!"

"They'll take one look at you and throw the case out to stupidity." I glare to the black haired guy who entered the conversation. Sai was holding a CD case in his hand, holding it out for Sakura to take while he smiled. "I did what you asked. Both things."

"And?"

"The DVD is in the TV waiting to be started. The second thing is almost completed. It still needs some time to be completely ready." She seemed worried by his later statement, making me frown. What the heck was Sakura trusting Sai with that she couldn't tell me about?

"Hey! You're not making him paint you something right? Because I'm a way better artist than him!" I pointed to the smiling asshole next to me while I spoke, making it clear I was not happy. Sakura shook her head and sighed.

"Sai, will you go tell Ino to get everyone into your living room? Oh, and take Naruto with you so that you can move the couch to make room." I didn't like the ordering tone that Sakura was giving me, but I knew that fighting with her would only end up with more bruises and a very upset girl. And the last thing I wanted to burden Lee with on his party night was a pissed off Sakura. So unwillingly I followed Sai, weaving my way through the crowd toward the living room.

"Move the couch to the room to your right." Great, now I was taking orders from the jerk? What the hell was I, a servant to these people? But I couldn't protest in time, Sai disappearing into the crowd. I stared at the large couch, glancing between it and the doorway that was crowded with people. How the hell did they expect me to do this on my own?

"Need some help?" I glanced over and smiled at the wolfish grin of a familiar face.

"Kiba! Long time no see man!" Actually, I hadn't had time to see Kiba since before I left on the trip. Normally we'd go to the gym together twice a week, but the past five days had circled around the friggen party and a certain missing asshole. Not to mention Kiba lived a few towns away with Hinata, so our chances of bumping into each other were slim to none. It was nice to actually see the dog-loving guy again.

"Yea, fucking Sai and Sakura got me wrapped around their little finger all night. They want me to move this couch to the other room. Ya wanna see which one of us is stronger?" He nodded and moved to the other side of the couch, both of us hauling our own sides with ease. Apparently people got the idea we were coming through whether they moved or not, because the crowd quickly dispersed to let us through. It was a tight fit, and my arms practically got crushed trying to get through with the couch, but we made it out alive. I slung my arm around Kiba's shoulders when we moved back into the room, Ino starting to gather the rest of the crowd into the now spacious living room.

"So I heard you made a video for the party?" He asked. I shrugged and glanced up to the huge TV Sai had in his living room. Damn prick had everything.

"Sakura probably modified it a bit, since it was on a DVD and not a video tape. I'm just hoping the fangirls don't pass out from blood loss by the end of this." We found a nice place to rest on the ground, Kiba glancing back at the group of fangirls huddled in the corner.

"Oh man, they're still here? Will they ever give up on Sasuke?" I winced a bit but hid it with a laugh.

"Doubt it. They're in a depression over him leaving."

"Leaving?" Kiba seemed confused, but I guess it made sense. He wasn't in the same town with us anymore, so he probably didn't realize Sasuke wasn't even at the party.

"Yea, the video's from our road trip. The fangirls got wind of Sasuke being in the video. Wait till they realize I'm owning him in most of the shots." I grinned in my normal Uzumaki fashion at the idea of seeing me beat 'Sasuke-saurus' again. Kiba still seemed confused, but I didn't care. He was a knucklehead anyways. We both pulled our eyes away from the girls when Ino started to babble something about the video before starting it. It was strange to see the first day of our trip, with me and Sakura in the car at day break. I could hear the laughter behind me when I wrestled Sasuke out of bed and even more laughter when he poured water on my head. Some parts made me blush, which couldn't be seen in the darkness of the room. Sakura had taped me and Sasuke sometime between Alabama and Texas, drool dripping from the side of my mouth while me and the idiot's heads almost brushed from our positioning. I remembered that night Sakura had wanted to sleep outside so she could watch the stars. Me and Sasuke only agreed because we didn't want her to get kidnapped while we were in the car. So somehow, through luck or misfortune, me and Sasuke ended up sleeping next to each other in a grassy field while Sakura taped up. I could hear the girlish 'aws' at the sight, while Kiba nudged me with his elbow and smirked. I growled and tried to deny anything happened, but then the video part of the DVD ended to show the group of pictures we had taken.

Some were at the Alabama hotel, one picture of Sasuke without his shirt on making several catcalls go through the air. We spent a lot of the time in Texas taking pictures of me and Sakura, just goofing off or capturing scenery. Sakura got a good one of me staring out at the sunset from our hotel room, and I promised myself I needed to get a copy of that later. But when the pictures from the four corners came up, I forgot everything in order to submerge myself in that day. I could almost hear Sakura's excited voice exclaiming we had made it, and if I closed my eyes I bet I could have seen the scene play out in front of me. The group pictures were first, going in the order that they were taken. The photos slowly slipped to me and Sakura, our crazy pictures making most people laugh or roll their eyes. Then they switched to her and Sasuke, which were much fewer than ours. But still the fangirls swooned at their dark prince's smoldering stares. And yea, I said _smoldering _because I could almost feel the blush heating my cheeks by the way he had stared at the camera. I never noticed how intent he had been on me until I saw these pictures.

And finally, the last picture of the four corners made my heart stop. Me and Sasuke stood in the middle of the four corners, my legs being supported by his gentle hands. My arm was thrown over his shoulder carelessly, and I hadn't realize I had leaned my head against his until staring at the photo now. I grinned like I always did. But Sasuke…Sasuke didn't have his gaze on the camera like all of the other pictures. He was glancing to me from the corner of his eyes, and the look of 'what an idiot' was apparent on his face. But the pleased smirk and the protective hold he had on my legs stood out to me in a way that made my stomach churn. Sasuke was the reason that Sakura had been so hesitant to take the picture. Sasuke didn't look like the brooding best friend that had been shining throughout the videos and pictures before this. He looked like a…

"-protective boyfriend." I glanced to Kiba quickly, who seemed to be reading my thoughts while he whistled at the screen.

"W-What?!" I hissed out, mindful of my voice when the pictures continued to our trip to Las Vegas. Kiba glanced back to me and shrugged.

"I said, Sasuke looked like a protective boyfriend in that picture."

"He did not! He just looked like a teme! And I would know, I'm a teme-radar." Maybe my voice was a little too snappy, or my answer too quick, because Kiba was smirking like he had just won a million dollars.

"Dude, did you make a move on Sasuke while you were gone?" My eyes widened in shock before I quickly shook my head.

"What the hell are you yapping about?! I don't like him, he doesn't like me!" Kiba blinked once and tilted his head.

"Uh…then what was he doing at your house today?" I tensed a bit in shock, staring at Kiba before slowly shaking my head.

"Sasuke's…in California."

"No…he's at your house with a big truck." It was then that the lights clicked on, not that I noticed. I was too busy jumping up from my spot on the floor and shouting at Kiba.

"Don't fuck around like that Kiba! Sasuke left and moved away to California! He's not here, and he's not at my house, and he's not with some big ass truck because he doesn't even talk to me anymore!" I panted from shouting at the shocked guy next to me, but I didn't care. He had some nerve, making up a bull shit story like that. And he still wasn't done, because his glared turned angry and he rose on his feet to cross his arms.

"Alright Uzumaki, I've never been a liar and I've never been a coward. Shout all you want, but I know I saw the emo kid outside of your apartment, with a big truck. Even ask Hinata, she was in the car with me when we drove by to come to this damn party." I glared at him for a few seconds before scanning the crowd that was staring at us in shock. Finally I found the Kiba's quiet wife sitting with a very tense Sakura and Ino.

"Hinata?" She straightened at her name but she nodded quickly.

"Y-Yes I…I saw him too, Naruto-kun." I felt my eyes widen as all the anger slowly started to flow out of me. I knew people started to whisper in the room at how crazy I was, or how Sasuke was back, but I didn't bother to listen.

Sasuke was…in Konoha…

..at my house…

…with a truck?

"What the _hell _is going on?" When nobody in the crowd answered me, I quickly tore away from the group and toward the front door. But somehow, Sakura and Ino beat me to it, and were standing in front of the door.

"You can't leave!" Sakura and Ino really had this synchronized thing down. I felt myself growl at the two girls who seemed the least surprised by the information Kiba spilled. And I say spilled because I could tell by their nervous glances to each other that they had known something was going on all along.

"Get out of my way!" Ino flinched a bit at my voice, but Sakura refused to back down.

"No Naruto. I promised Sasuke I wouldn't let you leave this party yet."

"You're in on this too?! What the hell is the teme doing here?" Sakura moved to answer, but stopped herself and glanced away.

"We can't tell you." So Ino filled in for her. I glared between the two girls, not sure if I felt more angry or confused. I kept switching between the two.

"Why is he at my house?"

"Again, we can't tell you."

"Why hasn't he called me?!"

"Naruto, we can't te—"

"Tell me something!" Ino stopped talking and glanced to Sakura, who in turned glanced to me. We continued this staring process in silence for a few seconds, giving me time to assess the situation. Sasuke was not in California. Sasuke was in Konoha, at my house. He had told the girls to keep me here while he infiltrated my damn apartment, and now had a truck with him. I thought maybe he wanted his CDs and car back, but then why did the girls let me drive here? This entire thing was completely senseless and I felt my head spinning from all of the questions that weren't being fulfilled. "Tell me _anything_…"

"He's done." I jumped and glanced back to see Sai leaning against the doorway of the small hall, shutting Sakura's cell phone. He nodded to the two girls, who seemed to instantly relax at the news. Me, on the other hand, was fuming.

"_Sai_ knew about this?!"

"We figured if we kept talking to him, then you'd know something was going on too early. You almost caught Sakura texting him at the dinner date." I glanced to Sakura who was moving to Sai, grabbing her phone and thanking the jerk who nodded and walked away.

"So…that wasn't Lee?" I asked slowly. Sakura looked up at me, and an obvious guilt shone in her dark green eyes.

"I'm sorry I had to lie to you like that Naruto. But Sasuke made me promise not to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"It's not our place to explain this. He's waiting at your apartment for you to come home." Sakura moved forward to me, hugging me tightly in a way that begged for forgiveness. "Go to him, Naruto."

"You…are so lame." But I hugged Sakura anyways, knowing how hard it was on her. She was put in a situation that no best friend wants to be placed in. She giggled into my shoulder and let go, Ino opening the door and rolling her eyes.

"Just don't get too excited, we need you to be able to walk tomorrow." I glared at her suggestion but moved through the doorway, quickly driving from Sai's place toward my own. Every step of the way my heart was racing with everything that had just changed. Leave it to someone like Sasuke to make me feel this nervous to go to my own damn apartment. My hands were clenched against the steering wheel, and every light in town was against me because they turned red as soon as I got to the intersection. Was this really happening? As far as I knew, Sasuke was perfectly content with his Naruto-free life out in California! But when I pulled into the driveway of my apartment, I felt disappointment well up inside of me. There was no truck here. It was empty. Did Sasuke leave before I had the chance to talk to him?

Wasting no time, I barely waved to my neighbor as I ran up the stairs to my apartment, fingers shaking from the desperate need to find my key. I jerked it into the lock and pushed the door open, forgetting the keys and running into the living room. I stopped, staring in amazement at how different my place looked.

For one thing, it was clean. The entire place looked like it was brand new, and nobody had lived in it. Especially not the slob Uzumaki Naruto. Secondly, there were things in my apartment that weren't mine. A different (but much comfier looking) couch and an end table were added. A few miscellaneous things that held no real meaning to me were lost. Paintings that I had made were now framed and hanging on the wall like they were worth more than a pack of gum. And a certain black haired teme was lounging so normally on the couch that it took every ounce of me not to jump over the new end table and beat the snot out of him.

"What…the fuck…did you do to my apartment?!" I shouted, not caring how loud I was or how late it had gotten while I was at the party. Sasuke looked up from the news channel he was watching to stare at me with those dark eyes that had been almost callous when slamming the door in my face in California.

"I made it better, dobe." I narrowed my eyes even when my body shivered from the baritone of his voice. Quickly the question and answer game began.

"How did you get in?"

"You never took your key back."

"When did you get back?"

"Last night."

"Who knows?"

"My family, Sakura, Ino, Sai, Shikamaru, and Neji."

"Where did you stay last night?"

"Sakura's."

"Why are you here?" He cocked an eyebrow as if the answer should have been obvious. I felt my hands fisting at my sides while he shut the TV off, pushing himself to stand and walking over to me. We stood only a few feet apart, and I hated the fact I had to tilt my head up to look him in the eyes.

"Because, _dobe, _I got an annoying message from an idiot complaining about my lack of cleaning in his car. Then he proceeded to yell at me for not saying something that he himself said he didn't want to say. Finally, the end of the memo threatened to kick my ass if I ever came back. With such a kind message left on my voicemail, how was I supposed to stay away?"

"You bastard." Now he was mocking me. He came 3000 miles to mock me. He smirked at my anger, as always, and took a step closer.

"Idiot. I'm assuming the girls said nothing."

"Of course not. They don't lie to their friends about promises." I could tell, even if he didn't wince, that the comment hurt. I didn't care. He was the one who told me that nothing would change, and that I was worried over nothing. He made that promise, and didn't keep it.

"I'm moving in with you." The sentence caught me so off guard, I almost fell back on my butt. He quickly grabbed my waist, keeping me from tumbling over while bring our bodies closer together. "My stuff has already been moved in, and I disposed of anything you had that was broken, old, moldy, or ugly."

"W-Wait a god damn minute! You've gotta be shitting me. You moved to California! What about your apartment? And your job?"

"I left the apartment." He paused at the second question, and even if I didn't want to, my lips curled. There was no way that Sasuke did what I thought he did for me. I mean, this wasn't a fairytale. But still, I had to ask.

"And you quit your job?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes before flicking my forehead.

"Get your head out of the clouds. I got asked to move to a different position in the company." I blinked once at his wording. Wait. Did he mean…

"Did you get fired?" The glare he gave me only seemed to confirm my guess.

"My father decided that I was better suited working back here. He said that I lacked the concentration in California and that…" He seemed to be having a hard time with the next sentence. "My…_mother_ did not like the idea of me being that far away."

"Your mommy got you fired?!" I laughed even when it was a promised death by the way Sasuke was looking at me. I didn't care; Sasuke was 22 and was still controlled by what his mother wanted. Sure, he was a momma's boy, but he'd never admit it.

"Stop laughing."

"Bu-but it's…its s-so funny!! You m-mom got you a-a job switch!" I continued to laugh until I was picked up under my thighs, my arms flailing in the air to keep my balance as Sasuke walked away from the living room and toward my bedroom. Well, I guess ours. Wait!"Hey!"

"What?"

"I never said you could live here! The only reason you're back is because of your mom!" I felt myself being pushed onto the bed, and the darkness of the room was only light compared to the two half open eyes that hovered over me. I couldn't stop myself from getting excited when I felt his body slide between my legs.

"Dobe." He leaned down, and I closed my eyes at the breathy kiss that was placed underneath my ear. I parted my lips in pleasure while his sinful mouth kissed down my jaw line.

"A-ah…stop." I fisted my hands into his shirt and shoved him back, finally forcing my eyes to glare up at him. He seemed unfazed by my anger. "You…you can't just do that!

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not your fuck buddy! I...I _won't _be your toy." I glared at him again when he leaned closer, and my next words were mumbled against his lips. "You haven't even bothered to call me, or fucking text me….you slammed a god damn door in my face!"

"You deserved it." I what?! How the hell did he get off telling me I deserved something like that? I moved to punch him but he continued without permission. "Goodbye means you let go of something. Goodbye means something has ended. Goodbye is the equivalent of a knife in someone's heart. You said goodbye."

"I…" What could I say? Nothing really, since his eyes were making me lose any internal battle I had against making out with him. I had hurt him? He wasn't saying it directly, but…_goodbye is the equivalent of a knife in someone's heart._ He was saying I stabbed him in the heart. Here I was, complaining about how Sasuke lied to me, when I had done the same thing. I told him that I wasn't going to say goodbye, and I had. With a smile and a fucking handshake. I really had done something stupid. "Sasuke…"

"I wasn't done with you, Uzumaki Naruto." And just like that, he grabbed hold of my mouth with his and produced a very unexpected moan from me. My body jerked up in response, eagerly rubbing into his while the war between our mouths continued. Finally I gained control of my senses and pulled back from the kiss, trying to regain the clearness in my head. But the thought was lost when Sasuke sucked against the spot on my neck where my previous hickey was found. Once he was sure a hickey would return, and he had teased the skin enough to make my body break out in shivers, he brushed his lips against the mark. "I'm still not done. I never intend to be done with you, dobe."

"Teme." But even as I said it I grabbed his shirt, yanking him back to my mouth for another kiss. Our bodies were a mess of limbs, my legs parting wider to accommodate his hips while our members rubbed and hardened against each other. Not that mine wasn't hard three seconds into kissing the idiot. I yanked at his hair a bit to pull his mouth away so I could tug his shirt off of him, jerking my lips to one of his nipples and sucking. He huffed a bit at the sudden attack, and I smirked at my success while batting the hardening nub with my tongue. His hands were under my shirt, and I nearly bit his nipple off when I felt both of mine assaulted by his cold fingers. He sent me a warning glance, which I replied to with a slight nip against the aroused flesh in my mouth.

I started to undo his pants, but only got to his belt before I was pulled away from my goal. I growled when I was pushed onto my stomach, but it quickly turned into a muffled groan when Sasuke forced my hips to rub into the mattress. The friction of the mattress and my cock was driving me insane, the pleasure only growing from the feel of his hands on my hips. I felt myself flush in anger at being so easily controlled, and I rose up on my knees to kick him. One hand caught my calf while the other submerged itself into my pants, finding my pulsing member and squeezing it. My eyes nearly crossed at the sensation that my body had been craving since he left, but I wasn't going to admit it. I shoved my forehead against the mattress and returned my knee to the bed, both hands fisting into the sheets to keep my body from thrusting into his stroking hand. I panted from the energy it took to keep still while he slid my pants and boxers down my body.

"T-That's the best…you can do huh? Pathetic." I heard him scoff before a warm chest pressed against mine, the slim fingers quickening to a higher speed than before. I bit my lip hard to make the pain starve off my orgasm. There had to be a law against how good Sasuke was at this. I had to check his blood for sex steroids later.

"Simply distracted you, idiot." I tensed at the feeling of something wet sliding against my entrance, and I tried to jerk away from it. Alright, that was not a normal place to be touched! But jerking made my hips press closer to his fingers, and I winced from the pure will it took not to let my body hump his hand. So when the second brush of coldness went against my ass, I gritted my teeth.

"No f-fucking way." I shook my head to show my denial, but Uchiha Sasuke never took no for an answer. So trapped between his body and hand, I could only swear at him when the coated finger slid into my entrance. It didn't hurt, but it was the most uncomfortable feeling I had ever experienced. I squirmed a bit, and flushed when I realized that only made the finger wiggle inside of me. I hit my head into the mattress when he slowly slid it back a few inches before pushing back in faster. My body shivered and betrayed my words. "Ta-Take it out!"

"Hn." And he did. For a second. Then another finger accompanied the first and the pain was a lot more sudden than I expected. It starved off the orgasm I almost had been granted when his thumb rubbed my slit expertly. I glared at the wall in front of me, trying hard to not show the pain that was now invading my senses and mixing with the pleasure of his hand job. The two fingers continued to thrust and stretch, making it impossible for me to do anything but sense the sharply contrasting feelings inside of me. One part wanted to flip over and kill the bastard for now entering three fingers into my body. The other, larger part, wanted to flip over, kill the bastard, and then dance around in his god damn blood. But since Sasuke continued to play and tease the second, and more powerful, head, my body was helpless do anything but wait for the pain to leave me.

And when I finally started to give into what he was doing, I realized that it didn't hurt so freaking bad. I took shallow breaths, focusing on the fingers that danced around my shaft, sliding the pre cum along the base and making the thrusts of my body slicker. Wait, thrusts? I moaned in frustration when I realized my body was now starting to enjoy the double sensation. He chuckled next to my ear, pulling the lobe into his mouth and creating a wonderful spark in my body every time he sucked. It didn't help it was in time to his hands, which were now moving at a pace that wasn't fast enough for me. I could feel his hardness on the back of my thigh, and I took a few deep breaths to control my voice.

"A-Are you g-going to just fuck me w-with your god damn hands…?" Instantly both hands stopped, and I grabbed a mouthful of sheets to muffle my shout of unfinished need. The fingers flexed once inside of me, and I shut my eyes at how unfair it was that something that had once been so painful now was used against me. He slowly started to pull the fingers out, and I was completely mortified to find my hips rocking back into the detracting fingers. If he noticed he didn't speak, but something hard and wet now pressed against the sensitive ring of nerves. I shivered once before relaxing, learning from my mistake with the fingers. And without warning, the bastard pushed into my and gripped my unexpected arousal. I muffled a few swears into the sheets before jerking my head to the side, glaring up at him. "Teme!"

"Be quiet." He pulled me up to rest on my hands before thrusting in, catching my mouth in a heated kiss. Our bodies worked against each other at first, but eventually he allowed me to set the pace to a much quicker one that he wanted. If I was going to be the god damn bottom, I was going to be in control. I shoved hard back on him, feelings his nails dig into my sides while mouth quivered. I smirked and kissed him harder as the pace became more messed and unable to be kept. His movements were jerky and hard to follow. My breathing was becoming heavier, and I tried to keep the kiss for a few more seconds before I jerked my mouth away for air. I gasped a few times to regain the oxygen, only to realize his thrust seemed to leave me breathless so matter how fast I breathed.

I felt his mouth sloppily kissing and biting along my back, as if to make sure I was really there. I responded with a slight jerk of my hips to make him softly growl. It was strange, seeing Sasuke so frantic. Strangely erotic. And before I could even tell him, my body tensed and I screamed his name. The pleasure that ran through my body was too much for my quivering limbs, and I fell to the bed while he continued to experience his orgasm. Shit, I didn't listen for my name. I panted against the sheets when Sasuke came back from his high, wobbling a bit but keeping himself straight. Ha, straight. Sasuke had just fucked me in the ass in 'our' apartment after admitting he'd come back for me, and I said he was straight.

He slid from me slowly, making it seem like he wanted to lay down and not the fact his body was too tired to hold him up. I smirked anyways, knowing that the idiot always had less stamina than me. If I was a little bit stronger, then he would have been the one on bottom. I rolled to face him, finding his head tilted to the ceiling and his eyes closed. Sweat slid down his cheek, and I watched entranced by the strange handsomeness Sasuke possessed. His chest was rising and falling with his soft breathing, his body slightly dirtied from our sex. Watching how peaceful Sasuke could be made me feel embarrassed in a way I shouldn't have. I mean, it was just Sasuke right?

"I love you." Aw shit, I forgot to concentrate on keeping my mouth shut. If I don't keep part of my mind on what my mouth is doing, it just goes off and says random shit that always gets me into trouble. So when Sasuke didn't tense or jerk away when he heard my admission, I was surprised. He slowly turned his head to me, opening his eyes to show arrogance I didn't think he deserved.

"I know."

"What do you mean 'you know'?!" He rolled his eyes and sat up, seeming to have control over his body again.

"You said it the night before you left." I tried to think of when he was talking about, but I didn't remember a damn thing! In order to fill in the blank spot, he spoke again. "When you came."

"I did?" Well I knew that I didn't want to say his name. But I didn't even know I was in love with him back then! Well, consciously. Ah what the hell, this day was completely screwed up anyways.

"Hn." I could tell he was going to leave, and I grabbed his wrist to stop him. We stared at each other for a moment, neither gaze wavering.

"What about you? Do you…ya know…"

"Love you?"

"Uh, yea." He stared at me, and I felt an awkward embarrassment for asking. Was I supposed to ask? I didn't any of those shitty love movies. I should have probably asked Sakura before I said anything, but now it was too late. I felt him shake my grip, and I hesitantly let it go. There was no use in trying to keep him here if he didn't want to. I wasn't _that _clingy. So he moved from the bed and walked in the most dignified way I'd ever seen somebody butt naked do. It would have been pretty funny if the tension wasn't so visible. He moved to the dresser that now stood next to mine, pulling out a set of clothes and putting them on the top. He then returned to my dresser, apparently picking out clothes he thought I was going to wear. He tossed those on the bed next to me and walked toward the door of my bedroom. Only when he opened the door did he speak.

"I was _asked _to come back. My father gave me the choice. Take that how you want." He left me alone to think while he went to the bathroom, and I watched him not bother to shut the door behind him. Slowly a smile crept onto my face and I grabbed the clothes he left me, hurrying toward the obvious signal for me to join him. And while I went, I heard the last line of the song that explained my entire summer road trip float into my head. I couldn't help but sing it while grinning goofily at the pair of onyx eyes through the mirror.

"Yea I know, how I feel

About you now."

"Dobe."

**That's the end! How did you like it? I was really sad writing this because I really enjoyed making this story. –sighs-. I tried to tie up everything and I think I made the ending a little surprising. I bet you all thought Sasuke was going to come to the party, huh? Well, it's Sasuke, so while every other normal lover would go find the one they loved at the party, Sasuke moves himself into their house. And then watches the news. So now that this story is over, I have a couple more I'm working on. From the way it looks…I have three one shots, and then the long story. Now when I say one-shot, I really mean…attempts-at-but-probably-won't-be-a-one-shot…-sighs. But yea, reviews would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much, and keep an eye out for my new stories! ~*Niki*~**


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